His And Her Relationship
by drosophilla melanogaster
Summary: “Ichigo, meet our new neighbor,” his mother said and the girl standing in front of them held out her hand, “Hi. I’m Kuchiki Rukia.” He hesitated for a moment before answering, “Hi, my name’s Kurosaki Ichigo. I’m 5 years old.” AU. T just for safety.
1. New Girl In The Neighborhood

**His And Her Relationship**

**Disclaimer:** Okay, I'll only say this once. I don't own Bleach or any of its character.

**Summary:** "Ichigo, meet our new neighbor," his mother said and the girl standing in front of them held out her hand, "Hi. I'm Kuchiki Rukia." He hesitated for a moment before answering, "Hi, my name's Kurosaki Ichigo. I'm 5 years old." An ordinary meeting in an ordinary world. AU. T just for safe.

**Chapter 1: New Girl In The Neighborhood**

"It's okay, Ichigo. You can come out now," the beautiful woman chuckled as she reached behind her to her son who was hiding behind her skirt.

The small orange-haired boy peeked out.

"This is our new neighbor," his mother patted him on the back to encourage him to come out of his hiding. The boy scooted out but his left hand still clutching on his mother skirt tightly while his index finger was stuck between his pursed lips.

His round amber eyes flicked up as he eyed the person standing in front of him. The first person was a tall man with a stoic expression. And even though he offered words of greetings, Ichigo felt that he was saying it out of courtesy. He tightened his grip.

Then he turned to the next person standing beside the first man. And Ichigo blushed as he saw her grinning back at him, her violet eyes sparkled with amusement. She was wearing a sleeveless white dress with colorful printed bunnies on its hem while her sandals were covered with mud. She was a head taller than he was, making him had to tilt his head up just to meet her eyes.

"Hi," she thrust her hand in front of the little boy while her other rested on her hip, "I'm Kuchiki Rukia."

Ichigo blushed even deeper before turning to her mother, who nodded her head in reassurance. He stared at the offered hand before slowly accepting it. His small and chubby fingers gripped on her bigger ones and gave it a good shake.

Seeing her wide grin, his lips curled up and returned her grin with his toothy ones as he introduce himself the way his mother had taught him.

"Hi, my name's Kurosaki Ichigo. I'm 5 years old," he announced cheerfully.

"Good boy," the girl reached down and ruffled the boy's orange hair, "I think we can be good friends."

"Um!" He nodded fitfully.

"Now go on play with Rukia-nee-chan, Ichigo. Mommy and Daddy have something to discuss with Mr. Kuchiki," his mother nudged him.

"Do you want to see my card collection?" Rukia offered her hand once again, and this time the boy took it without hesitation and followed her into the house.

Kurosaki Masaki smiled to the door as he took her husband's arms.

"What a lovely daughter you have there Mr. Kuchiki," she said to the other man.

Kuchiki Byakuya gave her a sad smile before answering, "She is not my daughter. She is my late wife's sister."

"Oh," Masaki raised her hand to her mouth, "Poor kid. How old is she?"

"She's 10."

---

**A/N:** Yet another new story. My other ones will come out eventually (soon enough I hope). LOL. I'm still working on it. And this was the product of my hungry stomach. Very short. And it's finished. I'll update this daily, depending on the reviews. Okay, I hope you enjoy reading it and drop me a review if you like.


	2. When He Lost His Wife

**His And Her Relationship**

**Chapter 2: When He Lost His Wife**

"I'm sorry for your loss, Isshin," Byakuya hugged him in an attempt of consoling. But Isshin felt the younger man stiffened, social interaction still wasn't Byakuya's strong point.

"Thank you, Byakuya. Thank you for all your help," he answered with a sad smile. Now he understood how Byakuya felt every time he spoke about her deceased wife, with the same sad smile.

He never could believe that his wife was no longer in this world. It felt like only yesterday when he put the ring on her finger and said those vows. It felt like only yesterday when he rushed in the labor room, finding his wife – pale and tired – crying in happiness as she held Ichigo in her arms and the twins almost five years later. But it was indeed only yesterday when she smiled at him, saying that she's going to the department store to bought Ichigo a birthday present. And it was yesterday when he received a call from the hospital saying that her beloved Masaki died because her car slipped out of the road and landed on a ditch. He still remember how rain pouring down just outside the window when he stood in front of his children bedrooms, figuring how would he told them that their mother had died.

But no matter how much he blame himself for not driving her to the department store; no matter how much he blame himself for not stopping her even when heavy clouds were hanging from the sky with a promise of heavy rain; no matter how much he missed her even when it was only a day he did not see her smiling face when he woke up in the morning, not even a single shed of tear fell down his cheek.

"I hope she doesn't cause you any trouble," Byakuya's voice brought him back to reality as he realized that his mind had been wandering off.

Isshin turned his head to face the younger man and found him staring in his usual cold eyes to the front of the altar where his wife's ashes and picture were placed.

"Rukia? No, she's been a help. God knows I already have a lot in my hands with Masaki's funeral. She helped me with the kids," Isshin smiled.

Rukia, wearing a black dress, was kneeling in front of the altar, tears kept coming down her cheeks and she barely kept her snot in place while sobbing. And in her little arms were the three Kurosaki siblings; Ichigo, who was crying with her in her left arm; and the three-year-old twins, Karin and Yuzu, whose reason for crying was just because their Ruki-nee-chan and Ichi-nii cried, on her lap.

"She didn't even listen to me when I told her to come home," Byakuya sighed. Rukia had been spending more time in the Kurosaki home rather than hers since the fist time they moved in to the neighborhood.

Isshin smiled and pulled out his cigarette box, "It's okay. Masaki loved her as her own daughter. So I guess Rukia, too, felt sad about her death."

"Hisana was the closest thing to a mother to her, and she had to loose her at such a young age. And I guess I wasn't the perfect person to play a father, a mother and a brother for her. So Masaki meant a lot to her," Byakuya took a cigarette out of the offered box.

"Just the way she meant for Masaki. Before we had the twins, she always said she wanted a daughter like Rukia," Isshin chuckled at the memory and bit his own cigarette before lit Byakuya's and his own.

"Isshin, if there's anything I can do for you…" Byakuya let his words trailed off.

But Isshin shook his head and smiled, "You've done much already. If I ask more of you, I don't know how I'll repay your kindness."

"I guess all we can do now for our wife is raising them properly, huh?" Byakuya said again after a long pause.

Isshin blew a long train of smoke.

"Yeah…," he loosened his tie, "I guess we owe them that much."

The men stood in silent, creating a huge cloud of nicotine on top of their heads.

"I thought you quit," Byakuya said at last.

"Yeah, eventually."

That was when the both men realized that the four kids sitting in front of the altar had slept in each other's arm.

Rukia was 13, Ichigo was 8 and the twins were 3.

---


	3. Midnight Marrauder

**His And Her Relationship**

**Chapter 3: Midnight Marauder**

Knock knock knock.

The boy on the bed startled before he glared at the digital clock sitting on the table to his left. The blaring red numbers on it informed him that it was almost midnight. For a second he thought that he was just dreaming and about to go back to sleep when the knock sounded again for the second time.

Curious, he crawled to the window and pushed the curtain away. He nearly fell of the bed as he saw a face glued to the window.

"Rukia-nee-chan," he shouted under his breath as he opened the window.

Rukia threw her sandals in before she landed on the bed gracefully.

"Yo," was the only thing she said.

Ichigo shook his head in disbelief. Coming in from his bedroom window was her new habit even when his room was on the second floor. She came when ever she felt like it; time meant little for her.

"What are you doing here? It's almost midnight!" Ichigo whispered, not wanting to wake his father or his sisters.

"I can't sleep," Rukia whispered back.

"Are you sick?"

"No, I'm nervous," she stared at him.

"About what?"

"School," she answered fast.

"You mean first day of school?" he frowned before letting out a laugh.

As fast as it started, the laugh ended when Rukia's fist met Ichigo's head in a hard way.

"Khh. That hurts," he pouted while rubbing the top of his head.

"I'm staying over tonight," she announced.

"What? You can't," Ichigo fumbled with his words and felt heat began creeping up his face.

Rukia placed her hands on her hips and frowned at him, "And why not?"  
"Because… because… because… you're a girl!!" he stuttered while his face turned beet red.

This time Rukia crossed her hands in her chest.

"Listen to you. Just a few months ago you were crying when I said I had to spend the night at grandpa's," she huffed, "Fine. I'll just sleep with the twins then."

She began climbing down the bed when Ichigo's little hands tugged her shirt. The boy frowned back at her, his face color hadn't returned to its normal state as he slowly removed the bed cover. Rukia grinned at him before launching herself to bed with a low shriek. Seeing this, Ichigo grinned before slipping under the cover and scooted a little closer to her.

Being near his nee-chan was the best thing in the world. And he didn't care if she was a girl. She was his nee-chan first, and a girl later. And just by being with her, he could easily forget everything.

With a happy feeling, Ichigo fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Ichigo was 10.

---


	4. A Proper Goodbye

**His And Her Relationship**

**Chapter 4: A Proper Goodbye**

"Ruki-nee-chan… Please don't go…," an 8-year-old Yuzu cried while holding tightly to Rukia's dress, tainted it with tear stains.

Rukia squatted down and held Yuzu in her arms, "I'm not going far away. Tokyo's just a few miles away from here," she patted the girl on the back before holding her an arm away.

"Now, be a good girl and stop crying. I'll visit you every week," she smiled.

"P… P… Promise?" she stuttered while wiping her cheeks.

Rukia nodded, "Promise."

"I… I… I promise I'll… be a good girl."

"Don't forget you're the house chef now," Rukia frowned playfully at her, making the girl giggle as she nodded.

Rukia then turned to the other twin who stood just a few feet away from them, biting her lip in an attempt to contain her tears. Her shorts were wrinkled because she gripped it tightly.

"Karin-chan," Rukia called her.

Karin walked slowly to her. And even when she started sobbing, tears still weren't there.

"Rukia-sempai," she nodded.

She began calling Rukia sempai instead of nee-chan when she began training in the dojo where Rukia was training along with her brother.

"You must train hard for the next meeting. You have your sister to protect."  
"Osh," Karin answered with a nod.

When Rukia held out her hands, her will to not to cry was forgotten and she ran to Rukia's arms, crying. Soon Rukia had the crying twins in her arms.

After their tears subsided, Rukia reluctantly let the twins go and turned her head to the person who accepted her leaving to Tokyo for college the hardest. Ichigo.

He was standing at the door, away from the commotion with his hands in his pockets and a frown which was getting more and more permanent on his face. His lips curled down as he kept his eyes on the lawn.

"Ichigoooo," Rukia called out, "I'm leaving."

But the boy still refused to see her.

"This is your last chance to hug your nee-cha~n," she tried again in a sing-song voice.

Still, he stood in silence.

"I'll visit you every week," Rukia said again.

"You don't have to," Ichigo muttered before turning around, entered the house and slammed the door shut.

He didn't even come out when the car which will take her to Tokyo drove away.

But, she did visit them every week. Then once a week turned into once a month, and once a month turned to once in two months. And finally, she only came home on holidays.

Rukia was 18 when she left for Tokyo, and Ichigo was 13.

---

**A/N:** Wow, the response to this fic exceeds my expectations. Thank you to everyone of you who read, added this story to your alert and favorite list, and those who reviewed. I hope you all enjoy this chapter :D


	5. Ichigo Kurosaki, 15 Years Old Now

**His And Her Relationship**

**Chapter 5: Ichigo Kurosaki, 15 Years Old Now**

"Pathetic," he spit blood to the pavement as he slumped against the wall.

Fighting was becoming his daily activity every time an unhappy senior decided he didn't like his hair color. Well, that was just starters. Later on, there were more and more new reasons for people to started picking a fight with him. And almost every day he came home with new bruises on his face.

This time was on his jaw. He probe his teeth carefully with his tongue and glad to find that they were indeed still intact. The inside of his cheek was bleeding though, and so were his lips. But he was lucky enough to walk away with only that. His opponents, lying unconscious a few feet away from him, had at least one broken bone in them.

He had always been good in fighting. Even when he was outnumbered, just like today when a group of 6 decided to drag him into an empty alley.

"You guys are fucking lucky Chad's not here," he spitted again before grabbing his bag and walked away.

Kurosaki Ichigo, a freshman in Karakura High on his 15th years of his life, groaned as he saw blood on his shirt.

"Shit. Yuzu's gonna kill me for this."

---

Oh my, very short. Too short, actually. So I decided to post two chapters today. So click the next button.


	6. Yuzu's Frying Pan

**His And Her Relationship**

**Chapter 6: Yuzu's Frying Pan**

Yuzu hummed as she stirred the vegetables on the pan. She was getting better at cooking everyday. And sometimes she even had this urge to cook non-stop. When she finally came to her senses, she ended up serving 10 different of appetizers, 6 different main courses and 12 different deserts. Luckily for her, her father's clinic was treating more patients than usual. So none of the food had gone to waste.

Tonight's menu was spaghetti and meatballs, Karin's favorite, and chocolate ice cream for desert. Her brother came home early today, but he went straight to his room. Later she found out that the reason he was avoiding her was because he had blood on his shirt. Again.

Yuzu frowned as she remembered that her brother had been… distant from her. He used to take her to the park or just hang out with her when they were younger. Ever since he started high school last year, he frequently came home with bloody nose and bruised face, and that was when she became familiar with bleach.

_Come to think about it, it wasn't started when he was in high school_, Yuzu recalled as she emptied the pan to a large plate. Yes, it started right after Ruki-nee-chan left. His smile and grin were replaced by a frown. He stopped coming to the dojo. He spent more time outside the house even on holidays. Well, especially on holidays. And at one point his grades were gradually sinking down before it returned to its normal state after one long talk behind closed doors with their father.

Of course Yuzu and Karin missed Rukia-nee-chan, they loved her like their own sister. But the one who missed her the most was Ichigo. And it worsen when she stopped coming back to visit them; he took it personally. Since then, whenever the word 'Rukia' was mentioned when he was around, he would stiffen and acted as if he wasn't listening, making the rest of them flinched awkwardly.

But what her brother didn't know was that yesterday she received a call. Well, the call was actually not for her, it was for his brother. But his brother never did want anything to do with a cell phone, so his only number was the house.

She was just reading the new cook book she just bought after school when the phone rang. And just like a good little girl, she picked it up cheerfully, referring to herself as the secretary to the Kurosaki Clinic. And she didn't recognize the voice for a second when she was being asked about her brother. Only after she answered that her brother wasn't home that she remembered perfectly the owner of the voice, and vice versa.

"I'm coming home on Sunday, Yuzu," that was what Ruki-nee-chan said.

She giggled on the memory, "Can't wait till tomorrow. Hm, what should I cook then?"

Yuzu was 11.

---


	7. When I See Your Face Again

**His And Her Relationship**

**Chapter 7: When I See Your Face Again**

His shoulders felt sore, his jaw clicked every time he opened his mouth and dry blood decorated the corner of his mouth. _Well, it wasn't that uncommon_, he thought to himself. But this time he somehow managed to avoid leaving stain on his white shirt.

"I'm going home," he said to the rest of the crowd.

"What?! But you promise you'll come with us…," Keigo whined.

"Shut up Keigo. I didn't promise you anything, I said I'll think about it. And now I think about it, I don't feel like it," Ichigo stood up then grabbing his bag.

"Me too," Chad then followed.

"Even Chad too?" Keigo sighed, "Then that means it's just the two of us like usual, Mizuiro."  
Keigo turned his head to the little boy, but Mizuiro already stood up with his bag on one hand and his cellphone on the other.

"Sorry, Keigo. I have a sudden date call. I'll take a rain check on that," he waved.

"You guys are so crueeeeeel!!!!" Keigo shouted to his friends.

Ichigo waved his hand to Keigo who crumpled to the ground, sobbing.

Though he felt a little guilty for leaving him like that, he didn't want to have anything to do with Keigo and his so-called 'group date'. Dating a girl was the last thing on his mind.

As he flung his bag to his shoulder, Chad nudged him and pointed his nose to the gate.

Ichigo squinted his eyes and realized the reason why Chad did that. Near the gate, he saw one of the reasons why he avoided getting along with girls.

"Kurosaki-kun," she waved her hand when he saw Ichigo.

"Inoue," Ichigo greeted her but didn't even stop as he did.

"I was wondering if we could walk home together," she said and blushed.

"My house is on the opposite direction from yours," he kept walking, before realizing that she had walked along with him.

"I know. I have something to pick up at a shop near your house," she said again.

"Ah. I just remember, I left something in class," he stopped abruptly, and without even pausing he turned around and ran back to the school building.

"Sorry Chad," he muttered.

Avoiding her everyday had become even more difficult these days even when they weren't on the same class anymore. Luckily he always found reasons every time she asked him out or just to walk her home.

Ichigo came out of his hiding behind the school's gym when he thought that it was safe and began his journey home while imagining what was for dinner tonight, his stomach growled in agreement.

"I'm home," he said out loud the way he used to say every time he went home.

Usually, a faint sound of 'welcome home' would drifted from somewhere inside the house or the clinic, whether it was his psychotic father, Karin's rough voice or Yuzu's cheerful and warm voice. But this time, as he stepped in to the house, Yuzu came barging in on him and dragged him inside the house. He barely had the time to kick his shoes off before stumbling along with her.

"Look who's here, look who's here," she kept saying.

"Yuzu… stop… pulling my…," he tried to say. But his words were cut off as Yuzu let go of his hands as they reached the living room.

There, on the sofa, were his dad, still using his doctor robe, his grinning sister, and… the person who he had tried to forget for the past 3 years.

She raised her head and once again, he found himself drowning in those pools of warm violet eyes. The eyes he had missed so much no matter how hard he denied it.

"Rukia…"

Ichigo was 16.

---

Okay, maybe some of you think that my count is off. But if you read more carefully, in the 5th chapter Ichigo was 15, and in the 6th chapter Yuzu was 11 so that means Ichigo was 16. There was one year gap between the 5th and 6th. Just in case you're wondering :P


	8. And She Is Still In My Heart

**His And Her Relationship**

**Chapter 8: And She Is Still In My Heart…**

A hard smack on the back of his head nearly sending him tumbling forward. With a growl he turned to face his assailant.

"That's what you get when you daydreaming while walking, idiot," the short haired girl snorted.

"Jeez, no wonder no one would make you their girlfriend," Ichigo rubbed his head and found a bump on it.

"Care to repeat that?" she balled her fist as vein popped everywhere, from her temple down to her fist.

"Ah… nothing," Ichigo laughed nervously. Tatsuki was not the perfect girl to mess up with. Not when she had finally gotten the title of 'the strongest high school girl in Japan'.

"What's wrong with you today? You seemed… off," she said after a while.

Unlike Inoue, she and Ichigo remained classmates on the second year.

"Nothing," Ichigo answered softly. He still couldn't shook off the shock from yesterday.

Tatsuki was about to open her mouth to retort when something distracted her.

"Rukia-sempaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiii…," she waved her hands vigorously as she ran off leaving Ichigo behind.

Ichigo's heart skipped a beat when he heard the mention of the name, and he nearly turned around and ran when he saw Tatsuki jumping up and down beside the small figure he already memorized by heart.

Yesterday when they met again for the first time, he nodded a hello then without even looking back, went straight for his room. He didn't even came down for dinner.

"When did you got home?" he heard Tatsuki asked.

"Yesterday. Congratulation, I heard about the inter-high," Rukia nudged her former kouhai on the dojo who was now taller than herself.

"And if you hadn't quit Karate, you could've come back to the dojo and train us. This little punk had stopped coming to the dojo since you left," Tatsuki send a glare towards Ichigo who was taking his time walking to their direction, "But I heard you're doing Kendo now."

Rukia scratched her head, "Yeah. A friend made me do it since we started college, and I kinda like it."

"But you've won the regional competition," Tatsuki nudged her.

Rukia was her role model ever since she was still a kid. There was a time when she envied the Kurosaki siblings for having her as a sister.

"That was just luck. Two of the best Kendo players were absent and the rest were still juniors," she then turned to Ichigo, "Oi, Ichigo. Can't you walk a little faster?"

He muttered something but didn't increase his pace.

"You came to pick him up?" Tatsuki couldn't help but grin.

Ichigo, who reached them at the same time when Tatsuki said that, blushed.

Rukia laughed, "Of course. He's my precious little brother."

She reached up to ruffle his hair, but he caught her wrist and frowned.

"Look who's talking," he threw her hand and walk off.

"What's wrong with him?" Rukia whispered to Tatsuki as they trailed behind him.

"I don't know. He's been like that since he came to school this morning. I think he might have eaten something to upset his stomach," Tatsuki answered.

"He used to be such a cute kid," Rukia frowned and crossed her hands.

"Nothing's cute about that dandelion now," Tatsuki nodded her head.

"I heard that," Ichigo said without looking back, causing the two girls to grin at each other.

"See you then," Tatsuki said as the road leading to her house separated from the one leading to Ichigo's and Rukia's.

"Bye, Tatsuki," Rukia waved her hands.

She sighed as she remember she used to do that when she was younger, waving to Tatsuki while clutching at Ichigo's hands after they finished training at the dojo. Rukia turned to see Ichigo hadn't stop to see Tatsuki off.

_He's taller than I remember_, Rukia said to herself. It was almost a year since the last time they met, and they had the same height back then. Now he'd grown at least a head taller than she was in just one year. She smiled as she ran to Ichigo and gave him a slap on the back.

"Hey, wait up. Jeez, are trying to show up now that you have long legs and leave your poor sister behind…"

"Stop acting like a sister," he cut-in in a sharp low tone.

"What?" she stopped, her smile hadn't faded.

Ichigo stopped on his track and stared right in to her eyes.

"I said stop acting like a sister. You're not my sister and you'll never be. God knows you haven't been for the last 3 years," he growled low on his throat.

"You're still mad I left and not coming home often enough?" Rukia frowned, her smile faded.

"No," he retorted as he continued to walk.

"So my little Ichigo is mad after all. Did you miss your Rukia-nee-chan that much?" Rukia had to jog to match his stride, and once again attempted to ruffle his hair. And once again, Ichigo catch her wrist.

"You're not my sister as I am not your brother," he hissed before letting go of her wrist and walked towards his house.

"Ichi…" Rukia started but he had slammed the door closed without even giving her a chance to say anything.

Behind the closed door, Ichigo leaned on the door and clutched his shirt.

_Shit_, he said to himself.

He turned his head and peeked from the small windows on the door. Rukia was still standing there, staring at the door before finally turned on her heels and crossed the street back to her own house.

He kept watching until she reached her door and silently closed it behind her. He could see in his mind, she took her shoes off and replaced it by her yellow Chappy-printed house sandals; she then went to the kitchen to grab a bottled water from the fridge before ascending on the stairs to her own room; she would sat on her chair before twisting the cap off and slowly gulping on her water.

He could still memorize her habits even when it was already 3 years since he swore that he would forget that he had a sister named Rukia. 3 years of tortured heart and agonizing memories as he lived through each day learning that he hadn't thought of her as a sister since a long time ago. He learned that his feelings for her weren't the feelings of love and compassion from a brother to a sister. And even when he hadn't deserved to be called a man, he already knew a long time ago that his feelings for her was love from a man to a woman.

And no matter how hard he tried to forget her, he knew - from the pain clenching his heart – that she was still in his heart.

Ichigo, who were still 16, realized that after all this years, he had fallen deeper in love with the woman he once called a sister.

---

**A/N:** Another time skip. I don't know why I keep doing that. This time it's only a day, though. Hope you like this chapter.


	9. When She Said

**His And Her Relationship**

**Chapter 9: When She Said…**

Knock knock knock.

Ichigo looked up from his book and turned his radio off. He thought he heard something. He glanced at the clock on his table, it was almost midnight.

When he was certain that he heard wrong, he reached for his radio's remote, ready to turned it back on.

Knock knock knock.

He set his book aside and frowned a little deeper. The knock came from his window. He crawled on his bed and threw his curtain to the side. He nearly fell off the bed when he saw a face glued to the window.

"Ichigoooo, open the window…!!!" Rukia shouted under her breath.

Ichigo stared at her for a moment as he contemplated on his choices, and decided to do what's best for him. He closed the curtain back.

"Ichigo! Open it, goddamn it!" she began banging on the glass.

He ignored it and reached for his abandoned book. Two weeks had gone by since the last time they met. And since then, she had come to his house everyday, when he wasn't around of course.

The banging continued for a few minutes before it finally stopped. And when it did, Ichigo set his book back down as his ears sharpened, ready to hear her climbing down. But when what he heard was a series of sneezing, he immediately threw his curtains aside, opened the window and dragged her in by the collar.

"Idiot. What if you catch a cold," he muttered as he closed the window and set the curtain back.

When he looked back at her, she was grinning on his bed.

"I knew you wouldn't let me freezing out there," her grin widened, only to make him blush even more.

"I'll go get you something warm to drink," he raised himself from the bed but something stuck on his shirt, he looked down and realized that it was her hand.

"I need to speak with you," she said with a serious face.

He was tempted to sit back on the bed with her, but decided against it and sat on the chair instead.

"Okay," he nodded for her to continue.

"I'm sorry I hadn't been a good sister for you and for your sisters. It's just that I had so many things at hand. I wanted to call you but you didn't even have a cellphone. God knows how much I missed you guys, but I worked so hard on my study," she clapped her hands in front of her and shut her eyes, "And you don't know how much I wanted to stay this time but I really have to go back to Tokyo and finish my studies. Just for a year. I can't promise you that I will visit you every week but I promise you this time I won't forget to call!"

He blinked a few times as he stared at the top of her head. He was unprepared for anything, let alone a stampede of explanation, and all in a single take of breath. He heard from his sisters that Rukia was leaving for Tokyo again, but he didn't expect to see her in his room, explaining it all.

Ichigo took his time and observe the little woman in front of him. And once again, he was reminded why he had loved her in the first place.

Because she was his everything.

She was his strength, she was his memories, she was his pride, she was his role model, she was his hero, she was his heart, she was… everything he ever wanted. And if he could wish for one thing, it was the strength to protect her, to make her happy.

_And doing what you're doing now isn't exactly making her happy, don't you think?_ His conscience said.

So he sighed and reached for his jacket. He stood in front of her. Sitting on the bed, her height barely reached his stomach. He held out his hand and ruffled her hair. She let out a yelp before staring in awe at him while holding on to her hair.

He threw the jacket at her face, "Be careful on your way home."

She brushed the jacket off of her face, "Wait. Does that mean you forgive me?"

Ichigo stared at her for a second before lifting the corner of his mouth in to a smirk.

"Midget be gone."

"Who are you calling midget?" she pouted, before an idea popped in her mind, "So… does that mean you don't want to sleep with your precious nee-san?"

As the image appeared in his brain, Ichigo blush beet red and shoved a laughing Rukia out the window.

The next morning, Ichigo was standing in front of Rukia's house along with his dad, his sisters and Tatsuki. In front of them were Rukia and her bags.

She gave each of the girls and Isshin a hug. Then she turned to face Ichigo.

"Aren't you gonna hug your nee-san?" she spread her arms in front of him.

He turned red as he said, "Are you crazy? Who would wanna hug you?"

That earned him snickers from Tatsuki and Karin and a chuckle from Yuzu.

"Be careful, Rukia," he said again when she picked up her bags.

"Hey! Who told you to call me only with my name?!"

"Yeah, well who told you to be so damn small," he snorted.

"I'll get you for that," she glared.

"Yeah well, you can try,_ Ru-ki-a_," he smirked and ruffled her hair.

And the next day after her departure, Ichigo Kurosaki – a few months away from his 17th birthday – bought his first cellphone.

---


	10. She Came Back Wait, Who Is THAT!

**His And Her Relationship**

**Chapter 10: She Came Back… Wait, Who The Hell Is THAT?!**

For the first time in so many years, he whistled. Chad, as usual, just stared at him in silent. Ishida pretended he didn't hear anything, while Mizuiro's and Keigo's jaw had broken the world record by rolling down to the floor. Not that Ichigo care.

The boy in question, Ichigo Kurosaki, was stuffing his books back to his bag before flung it as usual to his shoulder. The one thing he could restrain himself from doing was hopping in tune with his whistle.

Before any of his friends had the chance to offer a smart comment on his sudden transformation, he stormed out of the class, and away from school. As he walked along the river banks back to his house, he flipped his phone open and rolled down to the last message he received.

_I'm coming home tomorrow. Thank god it is finally over. Karakura, I'm back!!!_

He pressed the reply button and his thumb hopped on the keypad as he typed.

_Can't wait._

A few minutes later, the reply came ringing to his phone.

_Me too. I'm packing my stuff now. I never thought I have this many things. I think I need a truck to move all this, it's a shame to throw this all away._

_Need a hand? I can take the bus to Tokyo right now, you know._

_Ha ha ha. Yes, thank you. I'd love that. But wait, on a second thought, you don't have to. I don't wanna have to look around Tokyo for you if you get lost._

_Hmm, I guess you're right. Then have a fun packing, midget._

_Hey, I thought we already agreed on the midget thing, dandelion head._

_You agreed on it. I never said anything. Besides, it suits you just fine._

_What ever. I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, and I have someone to introduce to you._

He frowned at his phone. Introduce to him? But he shrugged his thoughts off as he reached his house. The most important thing was that Rukia was coming home tomorrow, and this time he will make sure that it was forever.

And as he predicted, he couldn't sleep even for a blink that night. He was anxious waiting for morning to come. At the first sign of light, he sprang from his bed and went to the bathroom. He felt a little foolish for dressing up. He even wore cologne! And for the first time in his teenage life, he felt like he was getting ready for a date.

After he finished, he flipped his phone and began typing.

_When are you gonna come?_

His phone buzzed as the reply arrived.

_Relax. I'm halfway there._

With a grin, he rushed down and found that his two sisters had prepared themselves along with a delicious looking breakfast. The bearded doctor was already in his clinic. And after a few minutes of sitting on the couch, Ichigo felt like he was grew impatient and began pacing the living room. That, obviously, upset Karin so she kicked him out of the house.

So, there he was, sprawling on the lawn as he waited impatiently for the taxi to bring his Rukia back.

He nearly fell asleep on the lawn when the supposed taxi didn't arrive for the next half an hour. But he sat up as a car stopped in front of the Kuchiki house. An unknown car to Ichigo. He knew Byakuya's car, and it was still sitting on the carport.

Maybe a guest, he shrugged and almost lying back on the lawn when he saw someone came out of the driver seat. A tall man with a spiky black hair. He turned to the passenger door and held it open to allow the person inside to come out.

Ichigo couldn't help but staring as a pair of feet appeared one after another from the car before slowly a jet-black hair along with a familiar violet eyes followed suit. She smiled at the man in a way Ichigo had never seen her smiled before. And to top it off, the man reached out and cupped her cheek in his palm as he brushed his thumb along her cheek bone.

And Ichigo Kurosaki, just a few months after his 17th birthday, felt the burning sensation of jealousy for the first time in his life.

---

**A/N: **This will be my last update in a few days. Hopefully I can update this in Monday, but no promises. I'm going to mudik!!! (For those who don't understand… well, it's kinda hard to explain but a tradition here in Indonesia and it involves traffic jam, meeting your families and cholesterol. I know, weird huh? LOL). Anyways, see you on the next update!!


	11. The Jealousy I Call Mine

**His And Her Relationship**

**Chapter 11: The Jealousy I Call Mine**

When she came out of the car, he had frozen in his spot. And when he saw him touched her face, he felt like a nuclear bomb had just exploded inside him.

The fact that she noticed him just a second after that and rushed to him didn't reduce the impact.

She had hugged him, but in a rush to introduce the man she brought home, she didn't even realize that he didn't hug her back. He didn't even smile.

"Ichigo, this is the one I wanted to introduce to," she dragged the man to the lawn.

The man smiled at him and offered a hand, "Hi. I'm Kaien Shiba. Rukia talked about you a lot," he said.

But the hand was left untouched as Ichigo glared at the couple standing in front of them. Instead, he put his hands in his pockets and muttered, "The twins are waiting for you."

He left them without saying anything else and walked into the house.

And even with all the commotion downstairs during the breakfast, Ichigo didn't even consider the possibility of coming down.

But a few minutes before noon, his silence was disturbed by a knock on his door.

"Lunch almost ready," she said, barging in the second he opened the door.

"I'll pass," he said without releasing the door, hoping she would took the hint and leave him alone.

But the petite woman ignored it and flopped herself down on the bed.

"Ahhh, I'm so tired," she groaned.

"I can't imagine why," he muttered sarcastically as his mind wandered to the raven haired man downstairs.

When he saw Rukia looked comfortable sitting on his bed with her legs dangling on the edge, he sighed and closed the door. He then went back to his table and his book.

"So," he began in a nonchalant manner, "… is he your boyfriend?"

He took a peek from his book back to her to gauge her reaction and his heart skipped a beat when he saw her blushed.

"Kaien?" she looked away when her gaze incidentally met his, "No, he's a senior in college. He's the one who introduced me to Kendo. He… said he wanted to see the house where I grew up."

Ichigo scoffed before muttering, "Yeah, sure he did."

He pretended not to care when he heard the sheets rustled, and buried his nose in the book.

"What're you reading?" he heard her said, "Is it any good?"

That was when her scent invaded his nostrils as she rested her chin on his left shoulder to peek on the book; their cheeks nearly brushed each other due to the proximity.

Ichigo shoot to his feet with a start, causing her to gasp in surprise.

"What?" her eyes widened when he just stood and stared at her.

She then squinted her eyes and grinned, "Don't tell me you're reading porn?"

Rukia trudge forward in an attempt to grab the book in Ichigo's hands, which – out of reflex – he had hidden behind his back. He was surprised to found that he was cornered as his back collided against his closet's door.

Out of a sudden, he became aware of their position. Her hair almost touched his nose; her shampoo nearly made him drunk of its scent. Her body pressed against his as her hands circled around his waist, trying to reach for the book; he could feel her warmth. And his head was on fire.

He pushed her roughly, making her stumbled a few steps back.

"Ichigo?" Rukia asked in a quizzical tone when she saw Ichigo clenched his fist, his face a fire engine red and he was heaving for air.

"I need to go to the bathroom," he shoved the book into her hands and stormed out of the bedroom and into the bathroom.

"_What the hell is wrong with you?"_ he asked his reflection in the mirror; a blushing 17-year-old boy.

For just a second back there, he thought he was gonna eat her alive. He wanted her so much, it hurt him just to let her go. He wanted her, he wanted to monopolize her, he wanted to prove to the man downstairs that Rukia was his.

Why did she have to bring him today just when he thought he finally had her back.

He turned the tap on the sink and lowered his head, letting the water soaked his orange hair. He groaned as he remembered that he still had to endure the painful fangs of jealousy for god-knows how long.

---

If the thing Ichigo poked with all his might on the plate was still breathing, it would've been dead by now. It was a miracle that the plate was still intact after it was scratched, poked and stabbed by the knife and fork Ichigo was clenching. He hadn't eaten anything since the dinner began, he just tortured it.

His eyes flicked to the two people sitting on the opposite side of the table. He didn't miss every laugh, every smile and every gesture she made. And it all made his rage grew even more. If this were a comic, he would have been drawn with red flaming fire coming out of his head.

If it were any other night, any other dinner, he would have been grinning until his face split in two. But right now, at the dinner in the Kuchiki house, he couldn't do anything else but pouting, killing his dinner, and making sure that the already-there frown became a permanent accessory on his face.

Yuzu's usually excellent dinner turned sour in his mouth as he saw her put her hand to cover her mouth when she laughed.

"_What the hell is that?_" he stabbed his steak once again, "_She never covers her mouth when she laughed_."

At first, he was reluctant to join the dinner. He thought a re-heated dinner leftover was enough for his growling stomach. But again, his silly teenager pride didn't let him run away from a fight.

So there he was, sitting beside Karin while Rukia and her company were sitting next to Yuzu. A bad decision as he couldn't even chew a single bite of his dinner.

"So, what are you planning now, Rukia-chan?" Isshin asked after Yuzu served deserts, he sat at one head of the table while Byakuya sat on the other.

"I have a job offer here, so I think I'll take it," she answered.

Someone cleared his throat, and all eyes turned to see the raven haired man sitting next to Rukia.

He blushed before began, "Actually, I have something to say."

Byakuya raised an eyebrow.

"I want to say this in front all of you because you all are the people whom she thinks very important," he raised from his seat and remove his chair away to create more room before he knelt down beside Rukia and took her hand.

The man produced a ring out of his pocket and slid the diamond ring on her ring finger.

"Rukia Kuchiki, will you marry me?"

Rukia gasped at the same time Byakuya's fork clattered on the floor.

But what no one realized was the bended fork on Ichigo's hand.

Rukia Kuchiki was 22 when she was being proposed to, for the first time.

---

**A/N: **I'm back, for now. Tomorrow I'm leaving for Jakarta, bright and early in the morning (Laynahikari, aku ke Jakarta loooh. Orang udik ngota nih. Hahaha) so next update will either be on Tuesday or Wednesday. And sorry for not been able to reply on all of your reviews. I really appreciate it, though. Again, hope you like this chapter.


	12. My Older Brother's Blues

**His And Her Relationship**

**Chapter 12: My Older Brother's Blues**

There was a long silence followed Kaien's proposal. Rukia stared at him wide-eyed and mouth agape; Isshin's hand paused before his fork touched the cake; Yuzu's fork stuck between her lips while her hands dropped to her sides; Byakuya's usually pale face turned white even when his facial expression didn't changed, the only tell-tale about his surprise was his fork which was lying on the carpeted floor; and Ichigo, whose eyes seemed to be able to burn holes on whatever object he was staring. The only one who remained cool on the table was Karin. She sliced her cake neatly before stuffing it into her mouth when everything and everyone else seemed to freeze.

And there was an obvious reason for that. Well, two obvious reasons actually.

First was when Rukia-nee-san came that morning. After the breakfast finished, the three girls cleaned the table and washed the dishes. So the moment the three were out of the men's hearing range, Karin and Yuzu pushed Rukia to a corner and began interrogating her regarding the man she brought home.

"He's just a friend," she said then with a blush.

But upon the twins' frowns, she gave up.

"Okay, okay. He's my ex. We broke up almost a year ago and remained friends since then. He said he always wanted to know where I grew up, he wanted to meet you guys. So here he is."

And the second reason was when Rukia went to see Ichigo before lunch, she accidentally listened to Kaien while he was making a call.

"I'm gonna ask her to marry me in front of her family," he said to the phone, "I know we broke up almost a year ago. But that doesn't mean I didn't try to… Yes, I know that. I'm ready… Yeah, I know…"

Karin had left after that.

Byakuya was the first one to regained conscious.

"Young man, may I have a word with you?" Byakuya said after he cleared his throat.

Kaien smiled to Rukia before stood on his feet, "Yes, sir."

"Nii-sama, I…," Rukia bolted on her feet but her brother's ice-cold stare stopped whatever it was she was going to say.

"It's okay," Kaien tapped Rukia's shoulder before following Byakuya out of the room.

She sighed as she sat back on her chair and began fiddling with her cake.

"So…," Yuzu squeaked, making Rukia jumped from her seat. Obviously she had forgotten that she was still on the dinner table with everyone else.

"… what is your answer?" Yuzu continued.

Rukia gave each one a silent stare, except for Ichigo who refuse to met her eyes and preferred to glare at his cake.

"I… I don't know yet," Rukia sighed again.

Then came the long, long awkward silence.

Karin watched his brother from the corner of her eyes. Ichigo's cake was no longer recognizable, but still uneaten. And from the way he was squeezing his fork to the plate, she could tell that something had upset him. Well, it wasn't hard to guess why, though.

Karin gulped down her juice as she remembered that she had noticed something was off with her brother since Rukia-nee-chan went to Tokyo. Sure, everybody knew that Rukia-nee-chan and her brother were very close, even closer than with her and her twins even if Rukia-nee-chan treated all the Kurosaki siblings the same. But what no one else knew was that Ichigo had something special for his so-called nee-san.

And the reason why she said that?

One, he went furious when he knew Rukia left for Tokyo. And this had led to years of rebellious act, blood-stained shirts and one constant facial expression that made him looked lethal.

Two, when she returned last year, they didn't seem to get along so well until the night before her departure to Tokyo when they somehow made peace with each other. This, of course, lead to a more weird older brother for both Yuzu and Karin. The frown and blood-stained shirts were still there, along with several new traits; unending text messaging with his newly bought phone, an inhumane appetite and he spent more time around the house.

Three, he looked like he was gonna explode in happiness since the day before Rukia-nee-chan's arrival. And he turned sour, grumpy and broody when she arrived with a friend.

Four, there was an obvious killing aura sparked from Ichigo's seat throughout the dinner.

So, that wasn't that difficult to guess.

When Yuzu finished her deserts, she began collecting the plates and asked Karin to help her take them back to their house.

"What do you think nee-chan's answer?" Yuzu asked her twin as they crossed the street.

Karin shrugged, "My guess? No."

Yuzu gasped, "Really? How come you're so sure?"

"I said that's just a guess," Karin gritted her teeth.

Yuzu tapped her chin after she put the plates into the sink, "But I guess the same too. They didn't seem to… connect. They didn't match each other."

"And who do you think is a perfect match for her?"

Yuzu stared at her sister and blink a few times before turned to the sink, "I don't know."

Karin sighed. One of the advantages being twins was that she knew what her sister was thinking without being verbally spoken. So even if she didn't say anything, it wasn't that hard to guess who Yuzu was thinking.

"Yeah, me too," Karin reached for the nearest plate and began cleaning.

The twelve-year-old girls worked in silence as they thought about how their brother must have felt during the dinner. They sighed in unison.

---

**A/N:** Hope you like the chapter. Thank you for all your reviews, you don't know how much they mean to me. So sorry if I don't reply on your reviews, I kept being rejected everytime I tried to logged in using my phone, and I'm too lazy to use my computer beside for updating the fic. So, yeah, sorry again.

smexyichiruki: I've been meaning to say this on the author's note but I keep forgetting. Thank you for your ideas, I think I'll be using some of them if you don't mind. I'll stick with what I have for now, but I will use it in the future chapters.

Laynahikari, oleh2nya aku simpen di puncak monas tuh. Ambil ya… LOL XD


	13. I Tried To, But

**His And Her Relationship**

**Chapter 13: I Tried To, But…**

Ichigo mindlessly observed the groups of people that were running around the track outside his classroom window. The math teacher who was scribbling random Martian signs on the blackboard was no longer amusing for his mind was somewhere else.

Last night after the dinner, ichigo somehow managed to stay a few minutes longer than the twins before decided that he had done all the possible damage on his cake and silently excused himself along with the badly mutilated cake. Not even Rukia's pleading eyes could make him stay a minute longer. And just when he left the table, the door that lead to Byakuya's study opened and entered Byakuya with the spiky man behind him, looking pale.

Ichigo strode out as fast as he could, not wanting to hear her answer to the proposal. That night he locked his windows, turned the volume up on his headphones and turned his back to the window. Still, that didn't mean he could sleep.

He was angry. For what, he wasn't quite sure. He was angry that she came home with the man, Kaien. He was angry that there was nothing he could do, except for sulking.

From the first time he realized that he loved her, he always knew that this won't be easy. She was five years older than he was, and she always positioned herself as his older sister. And he knew better than to expect something out of his feelings for her. But it happened anyway.

With each passing day, the need to have her for himself grew to the point where he suffocated just by thinking that the chance for it was next to impossible.

He hated himself for it.

"You okay?" someone brought him out of his reverie.

Ichigo turned from the window and saw Keigo stood beside his desk.

"Class's over almost 5 minutes ago and you're still sitting there? What kind of a healthy 17-year-old boy are you?" Keigo scoffed.

"Shut it, will ya'," said Ichigo as he stuffed his books.

"You're a no-fun-er. And here I am, thinking that I'll let you come to the group-date I've set with St. Maria's girls," Keigo pretended not to care even if he kept glancing at Ichigo.

No one could deny the charm of the bad boy of Karakura High, Kurosaki Ichigo. Girls adored him and boys who weren't envy him, hated him just for being him. And the fact that he kept his cool around girls had made girls wanted him more. So having Ichigo in one of his group date would definitely boost the female participants both in quality and quantity.

Ichigo paused after he zipped his bag.

"When?" he asked.

Keigo, who was already used to being rejected, snapped his head towards Ichigo and slammed his palms on the table.

"Today. After school," Keigo begged with his eyes.

He nearly died in happiness when he heard Ichigo said, "Well, what are you waiting for? Lead the way."

---

All his life, he had never been to a café before. During his childhood, he'd rather spent his time playing games with Rukia and the twins, at the dojo, or just hanging around the house. When he was older, and when hanging around in a café was the thing to do for people his age, he spent it sprawling in an alley or some abandoned warehouse, throwing punches and exchanging kicks.

But when he finally did hang-around in café, he didn't quite sure why people love it so much. Yuzu's cooking was a thousand times better than the menu and it was too loud to actually engage in any real conversations.

When Keigo announced that Ichigo was willing to take part on the day's group date, almost half of the boys in their class raised their hands to join the arrangement. So, there they were, occupying almost half of the café, shouting at each other's ears just to get themselves heard.

Except for Ichigo who sat in a corner, draining his third glass of Iced Tea as if he were on a drought for a week. Making decision in a mood was definitely a bad idea, he thought to himself. He finished his glass with a loud noise.

"Boring, huh?" a female voice distracted him, and he turned to his right just in time to see a girl sat on the empty chair next to him.

"Huh?" he frowned at her.

"My friends dragged me here. But I still can't figure out why people went to group dates," she flipped her shoulder-length hair over her shoulder.

Ichigo couldn't help but stare at the hair. It seemed so soft, he almost held out his hand to touch it.

_Shoulder-length hair with that insistent bangs that kept falling to her face no matter how hard she tried to tuck it behind her ear_. He shook his head.

"Yeah," he finally said and turned to his glass once again.

"I'm Senna," she offered her hand.

Ichigo took her hand and shook it, "Ichigo."

"I know," she giggled, "My friends couldn't stop talking about you. You're quite a popular man."

"Yeah, right. Popular yet ignored," he fiddled with the ice.

"That's because you looked scary. Maybe you ought to loose this frown."

Ichigo was taken aback when she reached out and touched his frown. He looked at her in disbelieve as no one had ever touched him with such… intimacy. And he watched her grinned.

_She would look a lot prettier with violet eyes_, he thought unconsciously.

"What do you say if we sneak out? I know a place that is a lot quieter than here," he said to his ear, made him blush due to the proximity. He blushed even more as she closed the gap between them, pressing her warm chest to his upper arm.

Ichigo cleared his throat and stood up, "Let's go."

The place she was referring was a small girlish café with pink frills heart-shaped items everywhere. It was half-filled with teenage couples, snuggled close to each other. One couple at the back was getting bolder by starting to kiss. Ichigo cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"I make you uncomfortable, am I?" Senna laughed at his ridiculous expression.

"Well, I don't think pink suits me," he answered as he fought a shudder when he realized that even the spoon was heart shaped.

"I don't think so either," Senna laughed again.

"So can we please get out of here?"

With another laugh from Senna, they left yet another café for the day.

Their next destination was the Karakura Park. Ichigo stopped just a few steps away from the ticket booth.

"_I'm scared, nee-chan."_

"_Don't worry. Those clowns won't eat you. I'll beat them down if they ever tried," Rukia smiled before extending her hand, "Let's go."_

Ichigo shook his head to push the memory away from his mind.

_I'm here to erase her from my heart, right?_ He convinced himself and walked towards Senna and the ticket booth.

At the last ray of sunlight, Ichigo walked out of the park with Senna behind him, hugging a huge bear which Ichigo won at one of the game booth.

Being with her was better than he thought it would be. She was the bright side of life he never get to know, and he was surprise enough to realize that he did enjoy being with her.

"Can I see you again?" she asked when they waited for their busses.

"I'd like that," he answered whole-heartedly.

"Give me your phone," she held out her hand with her palm facing up.

"Huh?"

"Give me your phone. I'll give you my phone number and e-mail address. If you call me after this, then I'll know you're interested. But if you don't, well…" she trailed off.

Ichigo scoffed and handed her his phone. And for the next minute, Senna was humming while she pressed the buttons of his phone.

"All set. It's Senna Love Love," she giggled and handed his phone back.

They both stayed silent until a bus arrived and stopped in front of them.

"Well, that's me," she announced but stayed seated.

"Be careful on your way home," Ichigo said and they stared at each other for a second.

It was almost surreal for Ichigo as the girl leaned over and pressed her lips against his in a chaste manner. When she pulled back, he could see her blushing deep red.

"Bye," she said before jumping into the bus.

The dumbstruck Ichigo was finally snapped back to reality when the bus moved and he barely caught Senna waving towards his direction. Somehow a smile grazed his lips.

---

When he arrived at his house, it was already 9 o'clock. The bearded doctor was already sleeping in front of the TV with a beer bottle in hand; Yuzu was reading a book in the kitchen and from what she told him, Karin already went to bed.

After he tossed his bag to a general direction of his desk and flopped to the bed. He was dead tired and his body ached.

_I never knew that dating is even more exhausting than fighting_, was his last thought before he fell asleep.

He woke up with a start a few minutes before midnight, sweating profusely and realized that he was still in his uniform. After a quick sniff of his body, he knew he needed a bath. So he grabbed his towel and headed for the bathroom.

A hot bath was definitely the best cure for fatigue and sore muscles, so he took his time under the scorching hot shower, knowing that the rest of the house was already deep in their sleep. Steam followed behind him as he stepped out of the bathroom. Wet towel was hanging from his still-damp hair.

His back slammed on the closed door of his room due to his surprise as he saw someone lying on his bed.

"Rukia…," he whispered her name.

There, on his not-too-big bed, laid one sleeping petite woman. Her violet eyes were hidden under the closed lids; her raven hair outlined her pale face; her left hand rested near her head while her other was on her stomach.

But what a healthy-17-year-old-Ichigo saw was: her slightly parted lips, her milky white throat, her silky thighs that were a bit exposed as her dress inched upward without her knowing.

Ichigo gulped and buried his face on the wet towel. Feeling it contrasted against his heated face before letting it slide down and fell to the floor.

He walked over to the bed and observed the sleeping figure on it. She was still the same Rukia that had left him for Tokyo. She always had been late on the physical development. And as she lay still in his bed, he noticed that the only thing changed from her was that she had more… shape in her body. Her waist narrowed as her waist grew slightly wider than he remembered. She physically looked more like a woman. Aside from that, she hadn't changed a bit.

He sighed and sat on its edge, a few inches away from her.

"You're pushing your luck, Rukia," he whispered.

He cupped her cheek and ran his thumb along her cheek bone as if wanting to erase the mark Kaien had left on it before.

He lowered his head until his lips almost touched her ear and whispered, "Do you know how tempting you look right now?"

He raised his head back and ran his eyes over her face. His eyes glazed.

It was useless. Somewhere on the back on his mind, he knew he couldn't forget her. How could he be if every time he saw her face, he fell in love all over again?

He took her hand on his lap and ran his fingers on the ring. God knows how much he wanted the ring were his. But even if it wasn't, he still couldn't lie to himself that he loved her.

"I won't give up."

He lowered his head again, and this time he didn't stop until his lips pressed against hers. When he pulled back, he fought his hardest the desire that had welled up inside him. So he carefully place her hand back, stood up and reached for his phone. He scrolled down and found the name he was looking for.

"I'm sorry, Senna," he said softly before pressing the delete button.

After the delete confirmation appeared on the screen, he flipped his phone closed and exited the room for another round of shower. Only this time, it'll be a cold one for him.

---

**A/N: **Phew (wipes forehead) that was a long one. Hope you like it. Still can't log-in using my phone so your reviews are all unreplied. Just wanna let you all know that they're all appreciated. And yes, I will eventually make a chapter in Rukia's POV, so just wait for it :D Hope you like this chapter though.


	14. Listen To Me Goddamit!: I Love You

**His And Her Relationship**

**Chapter 14:** **Listen To Me Goddamit!: I Love You**

Ichigo yawned and stretched his hands above his head. Sofas was definitely wasn't made to be slept on. No matter how fluffy and soft they were, it was still to short for his legs to sprawled comfortably and too narrow to completely facilitate his body. The carpet wasn't any better either, it burned his skin every time he shifted in an attempt to find a more comfortable position. So by the time sun began to creep inside the house, Ichigo was still sitting on the sofa; eyes red and bleary due to the lack of sleep.

So he spend his morning with a series of yawns accompanied him every few minutes or so.

"Stayed up all night on a date, aren't we?" Keigo nudged him on the arm as he grinned.

"Shut up," Ichigo jabbed his elbow to the brunette's rib who groaned in response, his lunch rolled down to the ground.

"So, you're finally straighten yourself up, eh?" the glass-eyed Ishida pushed up his glasses and grinned. He never missed the chance to mock or just pick a fight with the orange haired boy.

But the said boy wasn't interested on anything as he yawned once again.

"Ichigo," someone tapped his shoulder and he turned to see only a jacket-clad torso in front of him. Only after he tilted his head up did he see that it was Chad.

"Ochi-sensei was looking for you," Chad said again in his usual straight-to-the-point manner.

Feeling more than happy to escape the nagging Keigo, Ichigo got up to his feet and stretched for one last time before making his way to the teacher's lounge where his tomboyish homeroom teacher, Ochi-sensei, was.

"Yo, Ichigo," she waved him.

"You're looking for me, sensei?"

Ochi-sensei got up to her feet and cleared her throat in a formal manner.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, I hereby congratulate you on your scholarship," she took one of his hands and shook it vigorously.

"Huh?" came the reply from the orange-haired teenager.

Ochi-sensei reached for her desk and handed him a piece of paper. A neatly printed seal was what he saw first.

"I am proudly to say that you, Kurosaki Ichigo, are the first student in the history of Karakura High who receives a full scholarship from the French Embassy," she said louder than she had to. But when Ichigo saw her grinned after another teachers scoffed at her, he knew that she was boasting.

But Ichigo still mindlessly read the letter of approval in his hand.

"You _are_ going to take it, aren't you?" Ochi-sensei tilted her head when she heard nothing from her student. His reaction was the least she expected. She expected him at least to show her some… excitement. After all, he was the one who applied for the scholarship when term began.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I…," Ichigo managed to say before he stared the piece of paper once again.

Ochi-sensei tapped the boy's shoulder, "Just think about it. Consult with your family."

Ichigo gave her one last nod before walked back to his classroom.

When term began, Ochi-sensei announced that French Embassy was giving out opportunities for a full scholarship and everyone who scored A on their French are welcome to apply. He wasn't thinking anything when he wrote the essay, knowing full well that he didn't stand a chance. It was just a mandatory Ochi-sensei had forced to him since he always scored over 90 on his French tests.

"I wonder what this is? Is it love letter…?" someone snatched the paper from his fingers. He looked up to see that it was Keigo yet again, but didn't make any effort to take it back. He just stared at the boy.

"Hmmm, French Embassy in Japan hereby congratulates you on…," Keigo trailed off and the smile plastered on his face melted in an instant.

"You…," Keigo shouted and pointed her index finger accusingly towards Keigo, "I thought we were friends!"

When he saw Ichigo just staring dreamily at him, he threw the piece of paper back at him and shouted, "I don't make friends with nerds with scholarship." Then he ran off with tears on his eyes.

A pair of big tanned hands picked up the paper that fell to the floor.

"You're taking it?" Chad asked as he placed the paper back to his fingers.

"I… don't know," Ichigo answered. He'd been asking the same question since Ochi-sensei broke the news.

Chad smiled and patted him on the shoulder, "Congratulation, Ichigo."

---

Ichigo closed the door leading to his father's clinic behind him. The first thing he did after he got home was giving the letter to his father who was in his clinic. The usually-psychotic doctor sat back on his chair while he read the letter.

"I think you're big enough to make your own decisions," said his father as he slid the paper across the table back to Ichigo, "Just make sure you won't regret it."

_Yeah, that helps_, Ichigo thought to himself.

"You look terrible, care for a glass of tea?" Yuzu offered him when he passed by the kitchen.

Ichigo laughed, Yuzu believed that there was nothing a cup of warm tea couldn't cure.

"Sure," he answered and slid in on one of the chairs on the dinner table.

Yuzu gracefully set the cups before filling it with the steaming brown liquid in to it. She placed one set of the cup in front of her brother.

"Thank you," Ichigo said before he brought the cup to his lips and sipped it slowly.

"I've heard about the scholarship," said Yuzu as she sipped on her cup of tea.

Ichigo frowned, he didn't remember ever said anything to his sister.

"Ochi-sensei called a few hours ago. I happened to be the one who picked it up," Yuzu giggled at her brother's reaction.

He shook his head. Apparently the overreacted teacher was even more proud of it than he had expected. And damn that bearded man for acting he didn't know anything.

"So, are you going to take it?"

Ichigo took his time answering and swirled the tea in his cup, "I don't know yet."

"Well do you want it or not?" came Karin's voice who then flopped down next to her twin.

He observed his sisters and suddenly felt like he was being interrogated.

"The truth? Yes. That was why I applied for it in the first place. I just didn't think I could actually get it."

"Then why are you hesitating? Chances aren't coming in bundles, you know? It comes in individual envelopes," Karin reached for her twin's cup despite the glare yuzu was giving her.

That he knew, of course. The only thing made him hesitate was… her. She was the one pinning him down to the spot he was in.

If being away from her for four years resulted in someone else's ring on her finger, what would another four years do? He surely didn't want to come home to a bunch of kids with purple eyes calling him uncle.

"Speaking about answers, do you know that Rukia-nee-chan hasn't given him an answer yet?" Karin said after she cleared her throat.

Ichigo looked up and saw that the twins staring at each other, leaning towards each other as if they were whispering even when they spoke loud enough for the entire room to hear.

"Really? Then why is she still wearing the ring?" Yuzu asked back with a high-pitched tone.

"Well, I heard that Kaien-san had to go back to Tokyo for a sudden call and I heard he'll be back in a few days for her answer and had asked her to wear the ring at least until his return," answered Karin.

"Oh! So that means she hasn't accepted the proposal?" Yuzu almost squealed but something caught in her throat making her coughed.

A thump sounded from under the table followed by Karin's hiss and Yuzu's yelp.

Realizing what was actually going on, he smiled and finished his cup.

"Thanks for the tea," he said before heading for the stairs.

"Do you think he get that?" he heard Yuzu asked. Obviously she thought he couldn't hear her anymore.

"Your act sucks," Karin answered back.

"Karin, you're too cruel. You know I can't like," said Yuzu.

"Well, I just hope he gets the point and do something. I really don't wanna see her married the spiky man."

"Well our brother's spiky too, you know."

Then the twins went silent and Ichigo was about to climb the stairs when he heard Karin said, "Come to think about it, He looks a lot like Ichi-nii. Don't you think?"

As if stricken by lightning, he bolted up the stairs and into his room. And imagine how surprised he was when he saw Rukia sitting on his bed, reading one of his books.

"Sorry 'bout last night. I was dead tired and you weren't here and the bed looked comfortable," she waved to Ichigo who was still on his spot in front of the door, "Oh. I heard about the scholarship. Congrat… Ow."

She yelped because while she was talking, he crossed the room in less than a second and yanked her upper arm, making her dangled by it.

"Ichigo, what are you doing? It hurts, dammit," she flinched in pain.

But Ichigo will have none of that as he hissed, "Did you date him because he looked like me?"

Rukia's eyes widened in response and made an attempt to free her arm. But that only made him tighten his grip.

"What are you talking about? Let me…," she wriggled and got up to her knees.

"Answer me, Rukia. Did you?" he yanked her closer.

They stared at each other for a second until she looked down to his grip.

"No," she answered in a ragged voice.

"Liar," he hissed, "You knew it all along, didn't you? You already knew from the start that I love you, didn't you?"

But Rukia had covered her ears with both her hands and shook her head.

"Stop it. Please," she whimpered.

"No," Ichigo release her arm and turned to pull the palms that were covering her ears, "I will not stop. Not until you tell me the truth…"

"Please, stop it," Rukia managed to free her hands and covered her ears once again. Her eyes shut as she refused to meet his demanding eyes.

Even though Rukia wasn't a weak woman at all, strength was still Ichigo's advantage. He pulled her hands away and held them on his chest with one hand and using the other to grip at her jaw and forced her to look him in the eyes. He could see tears were threatening to fall as her violet eyes slowly opened; his own amber eyes were softened as they stared at each other.

"Did you date him because he looked like me?" and when she still refused to answer he tried again, "I love you, Rukia."

At that, tears were running down her cheeks and he could feel her body stiffened as she once again turned her eyes away from him. So he brought his lips down and whispered on her ear.

"But you already know that, don't you?"

His muscles were relaxing on their own and his grip began to loosen as his lips almost touched her cheek. But she found it as an opening and used it to shove him away from her, hard. Both of them were heaving for air.

Ichigo felt like he was going to explode. Anger, hurt, fear, joy, confusion, uncertainty, adrenaline, desperation were running on his bloodstream like a stampede. So he wasn't thinking as he moved. It was pure instinct that had taken over him when he yanked her by the collar, pressed her body against his own and crashed his lips into hers.

He could see her eyes widened, he could taste her gasp, and he could feel her heartbeat stopped.

Just the way his was. He couldn't see anything else but her beautiful face. He couldn't taste anything else but her lips. He couldn't feel anything else but her body, flushed against his own.

And the world stopped turning.

Nothing else left in his world except for him and her and the kiss they shared.

He would really like to believe that. Except for the fact that a sharp sound of slap echoed through his room and the stung in his left cheek.

Before he realized what happened, he heard the window being opened in a hurry and the sound of someone running away from him followed soon after.

---

**A/N:** Ah, I didn't mean to make the ending like that. But the words flowed by itself. Weird. Just hope you like this one.


	15. If That Ain’t Love, I Don’t Know What Is

**Chapter 15: If That Ain't Love, I Don't Know What Is**

Hours after she ran away, he still sat on his bed; head leaned against the still-opened window. The stung on his cheek was already long gone, but the sting on his heart kept sharpening with each passing minute. He lost count on how many times he had cursed himself and his stupidity.

The clock on his desk told him that it was already past midnight and the wind was undeniably cold but none of that could make him care for the least.

He and his childish behavior had cost him the woman he loved. He felt like he lost her again and somehow he felt that this time it was forever.

_Hurting her? Forcing her to kiss you? Was that how you intended to show her that you loved her?_ He silently chastised himself.

Years of non-stop violent had turned him into nothing but a rough punk who didn't even know how to treat the one woman he loved. And he had to reap what he had sowed.

And to top it all, he made her cry.

He, the one who promised himself to protect her, to make her happy, had made her cry.

Genius.

And what was his reason for doing it? To make her love him? To make her reject Kaien's proposal? Forget about loving him, he'd be lucky enough if she hadn't hate him by now and run off with the guy. Talking about killing two birds with one stone in a negative way.

He groaned and run his fingers through his orange hair before letting it tangled and began pulling it slowly. He'd like to believe that the pain was the least he deserved for what he'd done.

Then he turned to the window and peeked through it once again. Her room was lit by a dimmed light; no doubt coming from her night lamp. She was still awake.

_Yeah, you think she can sleep after being assaulted like that? You're lucky she's not calling the cops._

The damage had been done and there was nothing he could do about it.

Another groan escaped his mouth before he made his way through the window, down the wall and across the street. He stopped as he reached the Kuchiki house drive way. Byakuya's black Benz mocked him silently.

_Here goes nothing_, he convinced himself and began climbing the tree on the right side of the house. He never done that before and he prayed to whatever gods out there that no one spotted him. One could take him as a thief and throw him to the police for it. Or worse, feed him to Byakuya.

The fragile trunk creaked as he inched towards the dimmed window. Lucky for him, a large enough trunks was placed next to the window, so all he had to do was leaning down on it and gave the closed window a few light knocks.

He could see a slim figure, silhouetted by the lights, coming to the window and slowly removing the curtains aside.

"Rukia," he hoped he didn't scare her.

But he did. Her eyes widened the instant she saw him and closed the curtains back just as fast.

"Rukia, please. Open the window," he pleaded in whispers.

From her silhouette, he knew that she was still at the window. And his heart ached,_ she hates me_.

"I don't have any explanation of what happened before. And I don't expect you to forgive me. It was wrong. But please, let's talk. And I promise you, it'll be for the last time," he pressed his forehead to the cold glass.

For the next minutes, nothing was heard except for the shuffling of leaves as wind passed by the neighborhood.

Ichigo startled as the curtain in front of him being pushed aside once again, and he stared at her expressionless violet eyes. Her eyes lowered when she unlatched the window and held it open wide enough for him to climb in.

Her scent was the first thing invaded his senses; it was all over the room. Nothing had changed since the last time he was there. The wallpaper was still dull grey, her bed was still covered with her Chappy sheet, various sizes of Chappy plushies sitting in a neat row ontop of it and the small wooden closet he knew where she kept all her Chappy collections.

"I'll get you something to drink," she murmured and strode past him.

She almost managed to get the door opened when he softly held it close. He could feel her body stiffened when he came and stood behind her, leaving almost no room as she was pinned between him and the door.

"Let's talk," Ichigo almost whisper. No matter this would hurt him, he had to know. This had to be settled once and for all.

"What do you want to talk about?" she asked in her usual voice even when she didn't even turn to face him.

"I wanna apologize," he said again, "about what happened before."

"What are you talking about? Nothing happened," came her reply.

Ichigo frowned.

"Look, Rukia. Are you gonna act like nothing's happened and pretend you don't know anything?"

"What are you talking about?" she turned to her right in an attempt to escape the compromising position.

But his right hand darted out and blocked her path, and so did his left hand when she turned to her other side. He knew she held her breath when she realized that she was caged between his arms. Ichigo's only hope was that she felt the pain through his eyes.

"Please, Rukia…" his voice was barely a whisper, "…tell me how you feels about me. And if you say you don't love me, and not as your brother, I will go. I promise you I will never say anything about this anymore."

Suddenly he felt his hands shook and his legs trembled. He finally gave up and fell to his knees, his forehead rested on the small of her back.

"Please," he pleaded.

It took her forever but she finally turned around. Using her hands, she cupped and lifted his cheeks. He saw her tears streaming down her face before she lowered her head.

"I love you Ichigo… I always do…," she sobbed to his ears.


	16. The Life Of Kuchiki Rukia

**His And Her Relationship**

**Chapter 16: The Life Of Kuchiki Rukia**

She wasn't old enough to remember her sister. For all her life, she always identified herself as Byakuya's sister. When she was still a child, she spent most of her time playing alone in her room at the Kuchiki Mansion, in the heart of Tokyo. As the newly adopted Kuchiki, she had a hard time mingling with people. Nobles ignored her because she was just an adopted child and the rest of the society avoided her because she was a noble. She even scared of the butler and maids when she had to dine alone on the huge dining table for Byakuya wasn't always around. So even if she barely remembered her sister, she often drifted to sleep with Hisana's picture on her arms and tears-stained face. Hisana was her only safe haven.

Until one day when Byakuya came to her room and asked, "How would you like to move out to Karakura with me? It'll be just the two of us now."

She remembered how she jumped up and down after Byakuya had left. Away from the scary school, away from the lonely room and away from the silent house. Could she ask for more?

The new house to which they moved in to was a small two-story house with 2 bedrooms on the second floor, one on the first floor and a huge backyard. When they first arrived, it was being rebuilt as per Byakuya's request. He wanted to have a traditional Japanese backyard he always longed for.

Rukia squealed in delight as she jumped into the still-muddy pond. Mud splashed everywhere, leaving stains on her Chappy dress and sandals. Her breath caught in her throat as she remembered that Byakuya was still there, and he detested anything un-lady-like from her. But when she looked back at him, he only smiled back at her with an expression she had never witnessed he made before. She knew she would really love it there.

And at the same day, she met Masaki, the lovely, kind and angelic mother she never had. And with her, came a bonus. A cute orange-haired little boy named Ichigo. The cute little kid that hid behind his mother's skirt that had captivated her heart since the first time she saw him. She thought she would burst from happiness to realize that she finally had a little brother.

Masaki-ba-chan was her angel. She was the mother Rukia had always hoped for; she cooked her favorite foods; she told her stories; she knitted her sweaters; she… was everything she pictured a mother would do. And even if Rukia hadn't noticed it until her death, Masaki was the center of her universe. And by then, she knew that Masaki's death left a new obligation for the little Rukia, to take care of her children. And that was exactly what she did.

She learned how to cook, how to tell bedtime stories, calming three crying little kids, everything she never imagined she'd do just in the age of 13. But she enjoyed every minutes of it. She relished the fact that she had people who depended on her, just as much as she depended on them.

She loved her little sisters as much as she loved her little brother.

But there was always something different with Rukia and Ichigo's relationship. No matter how much she loved the twins, she always had this… bond she always shared with him. Whenever she was feeling down, or sad or just nervous about something, he was the one she seek for help from, even when there was nothing he could do except for listening to her. And she realized that the same goes with him. Nights at Ichigo's room were as common as the sun rise from the east every single day.

Until she decided to moved out to Tokyo for school.

His reaction was something she somewhat had expected. He screamed at her face, saying she's a liar when she said she would never leave him. And no matter how much she explained that it wasn't for ever, he shoved her from his room with tears on his face. He didn't even say goodbye when she finally left the next morning.

Something ached in her heart when he slammed the door. But she ignored it. He will finally understand; she convinced herself.

Back to Tokyo wasn't easy for her. Tokyo represented her long lost unwanted memories. Streets were littered by people she didn't know, classes filled with faces that unfamiliar to her and once again she had to live carrying the heavy burden that came with her family name on every step she made.

She was just glad that she shared her dorm room with another student that actually cared for her, and not her name. The lovely and kind Koutetsu Isane. The silver-haired girl was two years older than she was when they first met. And she was also the one who introduced her to Kaien who then introduced her to Kendo. And before she realized it, she was dating Kaien.

The man was sweet, loving, kind, handsome, smart, and strong; everything a girl would ever wanted from a boyfriend. But there was always something… off about him, about their relationship, about how she felt toward the man.

Whenever she kissed him, she found herself staring into space behind him; every time he embraced her, she involuntarily flinched. But she dismissed the feeling as she thought that maybe what she felt was a result from her inexperience in man-woman relationship and their on-and-off relationship was one of the results. But something deep inside her heart told her that that wasn't the case.

That was when she realized that something was wrong with her heart. She found herself thinking about her little brother every time she looked at Kaien.

At first, she thought it was just because she missed him very much. Because they never actually talked since the last time she told him that she was leaving for Tokyo. Well, so much for talking, she barely even met him every time she went back. She knew that she won't get along well with Ichigo after she left. But she never expected to be ignored by him every time she went home to Karakura. And what surprised her the most that it had hurt her. A lot.

On her short visits to Karakura, she always learned new and weird emotions swept through her. She felt sad when he turned his back to her, she felt angry when he refused to let her in to his room, she felt her heart beat faster when he was around and she felt incredibly uneasy when he saw her walking with a girl she didn't know.

'_That's because you're scared that your little brother will be taken away from you, every parents felt it_' was what she said to herself every single time.

And that was what she kept telling herself until that one fateful day.

As usual, before the start of the semester, she came home to Karakura. Byakuya was away to China for business, so Rukia spent most of her holiday in the Kurosaki house. Ichigo wasn't around, of course, just like every time she came home. But Isshin and the twins had her entertained the whole time, and she didn't complain. They were her family after all.

Rukia was about to make them her famous chocolate pudding they all liked when she realized that she ran out of milk. In fact the Kuchiki house almost ran out of everything for the refrigerator was empty. Trust Byakuya with groceries and you'll get malnutrition. Rukia was already amazed on how healthy Byakuya was since she went to Tokyo when all he could come up for dinner was cup noodles. Maybe she should thank Yuzu for that. So she grabbed her wallet and went for the nearest supermarket.

Unlucky for her, the usual supermarket was closed so she had to walk even further downtown. It took her almost an hour of walking until she reached her destination, and another hour to gather her groceries. The sun was ready to set when she walked out of the store and into the streets, just to run into a group of men near an alley.

"Sorry," she said in a hurry as she glanced to her wristwatch.

"What's the hurry there, little girl?" one of the men caught her.

"Don't touch me," she hissed and yanked her hand back.

"Ooooh, feisty. I like it when they get all feisty," the man grinned at his friends, and all she wanted to do was landing a knee on his smug face.

But she stood her ground and analyzed her situation. She wasn't a weak woman. Oh, no, not anywhere near weak. She had trained herself with Karate since she was a kid, and for god sake, she just got selected to represent her college for the national Kendo tournament. Yet, she was holding two large plastic bags filled with groceries, wearing a dress and a pair of sandals. Not a very suitable condition for a fight. Oh, and don't forget the fact that there were seven of them.

So she gritted her teeth, lowered her head and ran when she saw an opening. And she cursed her short legs when the men blocked her path and surrounded her once again.

"Uh uh uh. Who told you you can go? At least join us for a minute. Come on, we won't hurt you," said the man again, grinning the whole time.

And Rukia realized that no matter she had restrained herself, her own instinct got in the way. Before she knew it, she successfully landed a kick between the man's legs, a 4-years-worth-of-Karate-training kind of kick. The man's face contorted into a painful expression as his eyes bulge and saliva began running down the corner of his mouth. He quivered before falling to the ground in slow motion.

The rest of the gang watched silently with mouth agape as their leader fell before turning back to her with an enrage expression.

"Damn bit..," one of the men shouted and threw his hand back, ready to punch her.

She screwed her eyes shut when she realized that she couldn't do anything, not even form a proper block for the punch coming to her. Not when her hands were held down by the bags she just couldn't throw away. Her grip to the bags tightened when she heard a disgusting crack following afterwards.

_Wait, if I'm being hit, how come I don't feel pain?_ She asked herself before peeking through her eyelashes.

Bodies were flying and shouts were echoing throughout the street. Her eyes widened as she saw a familiar color in the center of the storm. Orange.

_Ichigo_.

He was barely an inch taller than she was, but looking at him battling men who was bigger and taller than he was, she couldn't help but asking herself was that the Ichigo she knew all this long?

The picture of his scowling eyebrows, gritted teeth, strong jaw, square shoulders, muscular arms and tanned skin was somehow telling her that that was not the same Ichigo she saw through her windows that morning, leaving the Kurosaki house. That wasn't the same Ichigo who just started his high school years a few days ago.

The Ichigo she saw in front of her, growling as he threw punches and receiving not nearly half as much, was a man she never knew. A man she never knew, yet she always knew existed. Gone were the picture of Ichigo as a kid, a little boy whom she swore to love and protect as her little brother. Replaced by the picture of an orange-haired young man she – didn't know since when exactly – made her heart beat faster.

A man was thrown out of the melee and bumped her, sending her slammed back to the wall. The man turned around, and when he saw it was her he bumped in to, he growl and threw his hand back ready to throw a punch on her. But once again, she was saved by a foot landed on the man's cheek, sending him tumbling away. In a blur, she found herself pinned between the wall and Ichigo's broad back. Her heart raced as she felt heat oozing from him and she was drunk under his masculine scent.

"Ichigo," she whispered almost to herself as it was too soft to be heard by anyone.

"You okay?" she heard him muttered, and all she could produce as an answer was a soft groan of confirmation.

Her heart clenched because of something she didn't understand. She looked up and she found herself having difficulties breathing.

She could hear him growl to the men lying on the pavement. And with what was left of their pride, they gathered their friends and limping away from Rukia and Ichigo.

"Thank you," she finally found her voice after a few minutes.

But then she gasped when Ichigo suddenly strode towards her and yanked the shopping bags from her hands. Without saying anything, he started to walk, fast enough so that Rukia couldn't match his steps, but slow enough so she didn't left behind.

Seeing his back again, she felt herself blush and her heart beat faster. And she felt silly because of the unfamiliar feeling.

When they reached her house, Ichigo put the bags on the lawn before he walked back to his home, not saying anything or even taking the time to look at her.

It took her a minute to calm her heart down before picking up the bags and went into the house.

After that, she mindlessly putting her groceries to its places as she repeatedly touched her chest, trying to figure out what was the strange feeling meant. She then took a long hot bath before went straight to bed. Her famous chocolate pudding was nowhere to find in her head as she fell asleep that night.

Rukia had never been more confused after that. The thoughts of him kept popping in her head. And being with Kaien wasn't helping either. In fact, he reminded her of Ichigo most of the time.

"Maybe you're in love?" Isane casually answered when Rukia asked her what was the meaning if someone kept popping in her head and when he did, she felt her heart beating faster.

Rukia had laughed at Isane's answer.

But as days gone by, the words kept haunting her. She often stare into spaces, zoned out during classes and more than once she found herself staring at Kaien and picturing him with orange hair.

"_I must be crazy. He's my brother, for heaven's sake! And he's five years younger than I am!"_ she mentally slapped herself even for considering to have fallen in love with Ichigo.

"So what if he's younger than you?" she nearly fell off the bed when she heard Isane said that, and only managed to breathe normally after she saw that Isane was actually talking to the phone and not to her.

"Love has no boundaries, girl. Not distance, faith, nor age can put a limit to it."

A silly smile appeared on Rukia's face as she heard that.

_Love has no boundaries. No distance, faith, nor age cant put a limit to it._

"_That's right. It's not like I can control how I feel,"_ she buried her face in one of her Chappy pillows.

But she never met Ichigo again after that. Classes and Kendo took up most of her time so that she didn't even have the time to visit her brother.

One year went by but her feelings didn't waver, it just kept getting stronger. The desire to see his face even for once had almost made her left her assignments and took the first bus to Karakura. And when the chance came, she called Yuzu to tell her that she was coming home.

And again, it wasn't as easy as she thought it would be. The moment he laid eyes on her, Ichigo's eyes hardened. And though she was pretty sure it was her name that escaped his lips, he didn't say anything else other than a soft hello and went straight to his room. And two weeks gone by for her without seeing him even for once, and it was already time for her to go.

Rukia tossed and turned that night, feeling uneasy. She had her resolve that she would strive for his love despite their age differences, but he was still making it hard. Even if he couldn't love her, at least she would fight to restore their relationship back to the time before she went to Tokyo.

Gritted her teeth, she climbed down the tree outside her window and made her way across the street and with skills matched a spiderman, she climbed the north wall of the Kurosaki house which led her straight to Ichigo's room. She gave the window a few light knocks.

The next second, she was face to face to a wide-eyed ichigo. She chuckled at his shocked face.

"Ah," she almost lost her grip on the window sill as he closed the curtain back.

"Ichigoooo, open the window…!!!" Rukia shouted under her breath.

A few seconds passed but there were still no signs that he was going to open the window. So she glued herself to the window and began banging on it as subtle as she could, if banging could ever be subtle, that was.

"Ichigo! Open it, goddamn it!"

After a few minutes of what seemed to be a fruitless effort, she stopped banging. She didn't want to wake the entire neighborhood up. She rubbed her arm in an attempt to warm herself up. After considering her options, her toe began tracing the uneven stone under Ichigo's window, ready to climb her way down. That was when a strong wind almost blew her sideways, sweeping her grip on the window, making her loose her balance. Her fingertips barely made it to hold on to the woods as she scrambled maintain her position. And maintain her position she did, but the cold had gotten their way to her nose and she sneezed. Thrice in less than two seconds.

She almost slipped twice that night when the window suddenly jerked open and she was dragged inside by the collar.

"Idiot. What if you catch a cold," he muttered as he closed the window and set the curtain back.

Before she could even help it, a huge grin plastered over her face.

"I knew you wouldn't let me freezing out there," her heart almost swelled with happiness, knowing that he still cared about her.

"I'll go get you something warm to drink," Ichigo mumbled and began moving.

Rukia desperately held on his hand, not really willing to see him go.

"I need to speak with you," she said when he looked down on her with a confused face.

She never did the aggressive-type. But she just couldn't let even the slightest chance of being on his bright side once again gone away.

Ichigo stood there with curious eyes before settling himself on the chair.

"Okay," he said reluctantly.

"I'm sorry I hadn't been a good sister for you and for your sisters. It's just that I had so many things at hand. I wanted to call you but you didn't even have a cellphone. God knows how much I missed you guys, but I worked so hard on my study. And you don't know how much I wanted to stay this time but I really have to go back to Tokyo and finish my studies. Just for a year. I can't promise you that I will visit you every week but I promise you this time I won't forget to call!" was what she blurted out after that, and somewhere in the middle she had shut her eyes closed and clapped her hands together as if he was a temple god she worshipped.

Seconds ticked by and nothing but silence in the room. Rukia almost thought she was going to die due to lack of oxygen as she kept holding her breath until Ichigo finally said something.

Actually she felt something on her head before she heard Ichigo said, "Be careful on your way home."

_Be careful_ _on your way home…_ She repeated the words in her heart before shoving whatever it was resting on top of her head.

"Wait. Does that mean you forgive me?" she couldn't help but felt the hope in her tone.

Rukia's face lit at the same time the smirk she always missed appeared on Ichigo's face.

"Midget be gone," he chuckled.

Feeling a little ease, she pouted playfully at him, "Wait, who are you calling midget?"

Then she hesitated, feeling her cheek rose as she said again, "So… does that mean you don't want to sleep with your precious nee-san?"

The minute it slipped out her mouth, she felt like a middle-aged man trying to have his way with a young, innocent little girl. A blushing young, innocent little girl who was towering over her. She laughed out loud when Ichigo finally threw her out the window.

And the next morning, her heart beat faster as she ride with her brother to Tokyo. Ichigo had called her by her name.

_Ru-ki-a._ The three syllables rolled out of his mouth as delight sounds to her heart.

Live seemed easier for her after that. Nothing seemed to much for her for she had his messages and calls. Yes, he finally had his own cellphone, just like any normal 17-year-old did. And regardless on how inexperienced she was on the subject of man-woman relationship, but his series of messages, emails and hours of late-night calls, made her sure that he had at least some special feelings for her. The thought alone made her smile.

Final year never gave the students an easy way out, and the same goes for Rukia. She had to balance herself from her studies, papers, Kendo and tournament. If it wasn't for two hours of Ichigo's calls, she knew she wouldn't even last one week. So there she was, just a few months from graduation, feeling reluctant to finish her school works but then eager to get back to Karakura.

_Are you available?_ Read the text on her phone's screen early in the morning.

Rukia blinked her eyes a few times before glancing to the clock on her phone. It was 7 in the morning and she barely had two hours of sleeping. Books were still strewn across her bed, neatly decorated with post-it markers on it like colorful little feathers.

_Hardly_, she typed the reply.

Five seconds hadn't passed until her phone buzzed again.

_Hey there, sleepyhead. I'm not surprise if you're sleeptexting._

_Sleeptexting? Is that actually a real word or you're just come up with that one?_

She smiled as she pictured him rolling his eyes.

_Didn't have enough sugar in your system yet, huh? Grouchy as ever._

_I'm not grouchy, just a little sarcastic. And yes, in fact I haven't had anything in my system yet since someone decided to wake me up with his irritating messages when I determined to let the sun set at least on top of my head before I wake up. But no, no. Little mister sunshine here decided he'll have his way ruining my plan._

_LOL. Great to hear your enthusiasm towards waking up early on Sunday._

_Uh-huh. Just as much enthusiast I'd share if I have to wait two hours on a line for a movie._

_Speaking of which. How about watching a movie together?_

Rukia frowned.

_I never know that watching a movie together from two distant places could be considered as 'together'._

_What if… I say I'm leaving for Tokyo in the 9 o'clock bus?_

She felt her face flustered as her heart beat faster.

_Then I'll say what are we waiting for?_

_Hahaha. I'd suspected that you'll say that. Meet you there in a few hours then?_

Rukia began to type her reply, but she was cut off by an incoming call, almost making her drop her phone.

"Hel…Hello?" she finally said.

It was silent for a few seconds, so Rukia took the phone off her ear to see the caller ID.

"Toushiro? Is that you?"

Toushiro Hitsugaya was her senior. He was in Kaien's class even though he was four years younger than she was. He first knew the ice-cold man when he first dated one of her best friend in Kendo club, Momo Hinamori almost three years ago. Their age difference never shown since Momo was so small and looked a lot younger than she actually was.

"Yeah, it's me," Toushiro finally said. Something in his voice alerted Rukia.

"What's wrong?"

Another silent before she heard him sighed.

"Could you…," he hesitated for a moment, "Take care of Momo for me, will you?"

"What?"

"I…," another sigh from across the line, "There's nothing I could do to convince her again, Rukia. She needs you right now more than ever."

"Needs me? But what about…,"

"She's… hurt, Rukia," he cut her off.

"She's what?"

"She's in the Central Hospital now. Please, Rukia," he said weakly before the line cut off.

In a second, Rukia already had the phone to her ear again after she dialed Momo's number only to be connected with her voice mail.

Rukia rushed to the bathroom and cleaned herself as fast as possible before changing her clothes. There was something in Toushiro's voice that made her worried. He was never that desperate before, so that mean there was something wrong with Momo.

As she locked her room, her left thumb danced across the keypad of her phone, texting Ichigo.

_Sorry, something urgent came up. Don't think I can go anywhere with you today. Really really really sorry._

She stuffed the phone in the back pocket of her jeans as she ran off to her cab.

She suddenly felt nervous as she reached the door handle to the room she knew Momo was in. In what condition did she'd find her friend? Battered? Bruised? Bandaged? She shook the images off of her head and slowly turned the door handle. She poked her head first to the dimly-lit room and searched for the bed.

Rukia let out a relief sigh when she saw Momo was sleeping on the bed, in tact. No bruises were seen, and no bandages either. So she slid in the room as quiet as she could and closed the door behind her.

Only when she came up beside the bed did she realized that Momo wasn't sleeping. Her eyes were opened and she was staring out of the window.

Then horror struck her.

It wasn't because Momo's pale face or her thin wrist or her visible cheekbones or her skinny shoulders. Rukia wasn't even aware of those. It was because of Momo's eyes. It was because her eyes seemed so… dead. It was as if those eyes were just glass eyes on a china-doll.

"Momo…?" Rukia called, trembling.

She called out her names a few times but Momo didn't seem to listen as she kept staring, her breath came out in a steady rhythm as if she was sleeping with her eyes opened.

Ever so slowly, Rukia reached out and touched Momo's hand and flinched as she felt it was cold. That was when Momo seemed to aware that she wasn't alone and turned her head from the window.

"Rukia…" her voice came out in a monotone sound as if she knew the object but didn't quite familiar with it.

"Momo, what happened?" Rukia sat on the chair next to the bed, taking Momo's hand between her own.

"Rukia…" Momo said again, this time her lips curled into a smile even her eyes just seemed as dead as ever.

Before Rukia had the chance to say anything, she watched Momo's smile quivered as tears began streaming down her face.

"Oh, Momo…," Rukia breathed before gathering the trembling little Momo in her hands.

"I never knew love will be this hard," Momo whispered when she was too weak to cry, "I thought if I love him and he loves me back, everything will be okay."

"I thought that status, age, wealth were nothing to be worried about. That problems like that could only exist in soap operas," Momo laughed bitterly and sat back against the headboard, "I know how naïve I was, seeing the world only in black and white."

"But that's just how I am, right?" she looked at Rukia and smiled again, "The innocent, naïve little Momo. Now I can see how stupid I was."

"You're not stupid, Momo," Rukia squeezed Momo's hand, encouraging her.

"Toushiro used to say that it was part of my charm. That my pure mind was the first thing that made him attracted to me, what he loved about me…," she trailed off.

"I was so stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid," Momo began pounding her head with her fist until Rukia stopped her and restrained her arms.

"Stop it, Momo, Please…," she pleaded even it wasn't necessary anymore because Momo's hands dropped limply to her sides as she began to cry once more.

"I'm tired, Rukia. I'm really tired…," Momo whispered, and Rukia understood that it wasn't meant physically.

Her heart was wounded more than she was hurt physically. So Rukia spend the rest of the day sitting by the bed, doing nothing than soothing a crying Momo or just to remind her to move whenever Momo spent more than half an hour staring out the window.

By the time Momo fell asleep after the nurse gave her another shot, Rukia slipped out of the darkened room to the brightly-lit hallway. She felt so tired that she didn't even have the strength to be surprised anymore when he saw Hitsugaya sitting on a bench in the hallway. Instead, she dragged her feet and sat next to him.

"Thank you…," he said softly. She wouldn't even heard it if it wasn't because the hallway was empty.

"What… happened?" Rukia braved herself to ask. Maybe at least he could answer.

Hitsugaya buried his face on his palms and gave out a low groan.

"It was my fault," he began, "It was my fault for being so full of my self, for being so confident, for believing that as long as we have each other, nothing else mattered…"

Hitsugaya's silver hair shook as his fingers moved, "I forgot that Momo's so fragile. I never thought that…"

This time he dropped his hands to his knees and leaned back on his chair. He stared on the ceiling with blank eyes, red with tears that were long dried.

"I never knew what she'd gone through every time we were apart. I never knew how she was treated when I wasn't around. And I wasn't thinking when I took her to my family party. I took my eyes away from her for just one second and…," he choked, "And there she was, standing in the middle of the room, soaked with wine with the rest of my family laughing at her."

Hitsugaya closed his eyes, and Rukia knew from his wrinkled eyebrows that he would never forget Momo's expression that night.

"The she ran away," he continued again still with his eyes closed, "And she fell down the stairs."

They stayed in silence before Hitsugaya opened his eyes.

He said, "The doctor said she's alright. Aside from the dislocated ankle and minor bruises, she's okay… physically. She didn't even want to see me…"

Rukia really didn't know what to say at times like these. In fact, she began to feel herself tremble on the thought forming in her head as she identified herself with Momo…

So when Hitsugaya got up to his feet and tapped her on the shoulder, saying, "I leave her to you," she froze.

Everything that she feared had just happened in front of her eyes. Not to her, but to her best friend Momo. It was as if God was sending her warnings, signs that whatever she wanted to do, what she planned, was meant to be a total failure.

That night, as she sat by the hospital bed next to a sleeping Momo, she cried as quietly as she could. Not only for the pain that Momo had gone through, but for her love for Ichigo that had to die before even having a chance to see the light.

…

Suppressing feelings wasn't an easy thing to do. And she repeatedly thanked the Professors for burying her in mountains of works. The fact that texting was the only means of communications between her and Ichigo lately had also helped. She didn't have to try hard making limitations in her text messages with him. She would still sound eager but keeping boundaries at the same times. Maybe she inherited it from Byakuya.

But no matter she wished for the time to stop, or at least slowed down, the time of her return to Karakura had come. She had dragged herself along the campus, trying to find something to do that would postpone her departure.

"Need a hand?" a familiar voice greeted her from the doorway as Rukia packed the remaining of her books.

She turned to the door and saw Kaien leaning against the doorway. His signature leather jacket was thrown over his shoulder, leaving him only with his grey T-shirt.

"Hi. Looking for someone?" Rukia focused on her books.

Though her relationship with Kaien ended almost a year ago, it didn't stop him to try. He always came over after work or on weekends. They had dinner once in a while, to which he had assured her it was strictly friendly dinner, though Rukia could say the opposite. She had tried to keep her distance with him.

"Yeah, someone to accompany me to dine, actually. Do you know anyone who's available, preferably with a hungry stomach?"

Rukia chuckled but never turned from her books.

"Sorry, haven't seen any. I'll get back to you as soon as I see one."

Kaien flopped himself on her bed and propped his hand behind him.

"Oh come on. You're leaving tomorrow, this is maybe my last chance to…," he trailed off as he glanced at Rukia who was still trying to stuff her books into the already-overloaded box, "… have dinner with you," he said at last.

After managing to shove the last book in and tightened the box, she stood up and gave a loud sigh, beads of sweat hanging on the corner of her face.

"Sorry," she shrugged, "Still have lots to pack."

And just as she moved to grab another stack of books, her phone buzzed.

_My homeworks're killing me,_ read the message on her screen.

She began typing her reply until her fingers stopped and she looked back to Kaien who was lying on her bed with his feet dangling on the edge. She felt guilty washed over her for a split second before she felt silly about it. Sure, she had chosen Kaien for the wrong reasons and that was something she was guilty about. But didn't she end it already?

_Stop whining like a 5-year-old_, she then typed.

Not a minute later her phone buzzed again.

_God, why can't morning comes already. I really, really, really want to see you._

She paused. This was something she get a lot after they began texting. And back when she still don't care about what people would think, she'll beamed reading those kinds of text messages. And even sometimes she'll flirt back with something inconspicuous. But after the Momo incident, she, then chose to kept her answers neutral and global. Just playing stupid.

_Yeah, I miss Karakura so much_, was her chosen answer.

_Yeah, miss you too._

She sighed and put her phone down.

"What's wrong?" asked Kaien who had sat up in her bed again, watching her.

"Nothing," she then answered, then she paused.

Maybe she could put an end to the ridiculous game with Ichigo once and for all. And all she had to do was…

"Say, Kaien, are you free tomorrow?"

Kaien tilted his head and frowned. He smelled something fishy every time she's being nice.

"Yeah…," he answered carefully, "Why?"

"How about giving me a ride home to Karakura?"

…

The ride was silent except for the few talks about Kaien's job and Rukia's job offers. She said that she received several offers. When the term started last year, she was eager to find a job in Karakura, or at least near enough. But for the last few days she was already decidied that she would take the job offer in Tokyo. The farther from Karakura, the better.

"You're awfully quiet today," Kaien said halfway through the journey.

"Sorry," she answered without looking away from the window, "I had a lot in my mind. And I'm just excited coming back to Karakura."

She knew the way she said it didn't sound convincing, but she didn't care.

She felt guilty for what she did and she will do.

She felt guilty for using Kaien; knowing full well that he was still in love with her; knowing that inviting him to Karakura would give him a new hope; and knowing that when her purposes had been fulfilled, she would have to keep her distance with the man once again, thus breaking his heart, again.

But she needed him. She needed someone her family knew she had dated though never met. She knew that the minute Ichigo saw Kaien, he would get the hint. And she felt guilty about it too.  
"Is this it?" Kaien said again and Rukia had to blink her eyes a few times before realizing that the car had stopped in front of her house.

"Uh… yeah," she answered.

Kaien got out of the car, and Rukia was about to do the same when she saw Ichigo laying on the lawn in front of his house. He sat up when Kaien slammed the door shut; he stared at Kaien as Kaien walked to her door.

"You okay?" Kaien asked when she stepped out of the car.

Rukia looked up to Kaien, remembering those days when she thought she loved him; he still hadn't change since then.

"I'm okay," she smiled at him, feeling guiltier by the minute.

"You look pale," he raised his hand and stroked her cheek. And for a second Rukia thought, it'd be better if she could really love him.

"I'm always pale, remember?" She snorted, and then over Kaien's shoulder, she saw Ichigo's expression as he witnessed something that must've been looked like a public display of affection.

It was what Rukia had wanted, but still she felt her heart shrink.

Just as she thought, Ichigo avoided her ever since. He even acted strange when she came up to fetch him for lunch. Another problem was Yuzu and Karin. They interrogated her about Kaien. 'Who he is? What's he doing here? What is him to you?' that sort of question. Rukia lied as best as she could though she didn't really convinced that the twins believed her.

But all in all, her biggest problem was not Yuzu and Karin nor Ichigo like she thought before. It was her brother who was throwing fits on her. Fits that made Rukia's spine stiffen as if ice water had been poured on her: he was being polite and he smiled.

She could see the same bucket of ice water being poured on Isshin as Byakuya smiled to Kaien and offer a refill to the younger man's cup. And of course, just like a little lamb being fed before it was slaughtered, Kaien was oblivious of the danger lurking behind Byakuya's angelic smile.

During the dinner, Rukia had been especially alert for the first sign of trouble that would set Byakuya berserk. She skillfully avoided dangerous conversation and keeping it to a safer topic like job offers, common interests and stuff. But then again, it was getting harder for her to concentrate as she kept glancing at Ichigo just across the table.

She had let her guards down when desserts were served, thinking the fight was almost over. She nibbled at her fork as she talked with Isshin when suddenly Kaien cleared his throat and she looked back at him.

"Actually, I have something to say," said the blushing Kaien. Puzzled, Rukia smiled back at him.

"I want to say this in front all of you because you all are the people whom she thinks very important," he raised from his seat and remove his chair away to create more room before he knelt down beside Rukia and took her hand.

It should've been an enough signs for her to react, put an end to it before it began for she had a faint guess of what Kaien was trying to do. Or maybe when Kaien reached to his pocket and took out a diamond ring, she should've known for sure what was going to happen. But, just like other disaster that meant to happen, Rukia just sat in her chair; her stupid smile in place.

"Rukia Kuchiki, will you marry me?"

Then it hit her just one tenth of a second and she gasped.

But she couldn't do anything when Kaien slipped the ring on her finger. She couldn't talk, she couldn't move, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't even take her eyes away from Kaien's face even when in reality the ones she really saw was Ichigo and Byakuya. From her peripheral vision, she could see that both of them had frozen in their seat, still in shock. Gone were the smile from Byakuya's face. This was what she had always expected since he first greeted Kaien with a smile.

A throat being cleared and she tore her eyes from Kaien to her brother.

"Young man, may I have a word with you?" Byakuya said, still being polite even if Rukia could see veins started popping on his smooth forehead.

If Kaien knew the man as much as she did, he would've run for his life.

"Nii-sama, I…," she started. She had to save Kaien one way or another, it was her fault for taking him back. But she couldn't say anything else under her brother's ice-cold stare.

"It's okay," Kaien assured her with a smile. But she could see that the man knew what danger he might be facing as he walked behind Byakuya in to the study room.

The dining room fell silent after the door being closed behind Kaien, and Rukia found herself sitting her seat once again while her hand turned white for clutching tightly to the table.

"_What just happened? Did he… did he… proposed me?"_ she had a silent debate with herself.

"So…," the voice startled Rukia and she looked up. The Kurosakis were all staring at her, two with curious eyes, one with a hint of boredom and one with an obvious attempt of torturing his cake.

"… what's your answered," Yuzu squeaked from her chair.

She blinked at her reached for her fork, poking her cake with it.

"I… I don't know yet," Rukia sighed again.

Yuzu and Karin had left after that. Byakuya came out of the study room at the same time as Ichigo left.

"I believe your guest is leaving," Byakuya said without stopping. He went to the back of the house, and Isshin followed after him with a bottle of sake in his hand.

"Sorry," Rukia sighed as she escort Kaien back to his car, "For Byakuya, I mean. He tends to… overreact."

Kaien gave her a weary smile, "It's okay. He's got a point though. I can't come barging in his house then suddenly proposing to his sister."

Rukia laugh nervously but didn't say anything after the proposal was brought up again. But she looked up to Kaien when he took her hand and stroked the ring that was still on her finger.

"Please tell me that you'll think about it?"

"I will," at least that was all she could promise him.

…

The next day was a hard day for her. She felt an urge to see Ichigo, to explain that Kaien meant nothing for her, that she was going to say no anyway. But of course, she couldn't do it. She shouldn't do it. And the ring stayed on her finger.

Byakuya wasn't making it easy for her either. He was getting back at her… by being childish. Not finishing his foods, taking out the laundry from the hamper just to find a pair of socks and locking himself in the Japanese room, only came out to refill his cups of tea.

"You dint have to worry, he's just having a hard time accepting the fact that you're a grown woman," Isshin explained when he came out from the room, finding Rukia sitting on the floor wit a worried look.

"He'll be alright. Don't let his behavior affects your decision," he patted Rukia's head, "Now go out and have some fun."

And she did exactly what he suggested. Or at least tried. She called her high school friends and was lucky enough to find that Renji Abarai was available that day. They met at the Karakura shopping mal and decided to give Nanao Ise, also a friend from their high school years, a visit. She gave birth to a baby girl last week, Renji told her.

They spend two hours browsing through the stores at the mal, looking for something for a gift to the new mother. And after the 11th or 12th shop, they finally decided to give Nanao a cute chicken plushy and a baby hygiene set. She was having fun so far, until they were out on the street when she saw Ichigo. Still wearing his uniform, clutching his school bag and… a girl.

His face seemed relax, he wore a smile and he seemed casual as he held the girl's hand in his. He laughed when the girl cuddled closer to him. Even if they were across the street, she could see his happy face.

"Are you okay?" Renji asked her because she had stopped on her track.

It took her a second to recover and pulled Renji to a bus. Nanao and her husband welcomed her and Renji with a feast. But what should've been an exciting visit, she couldn't seem to keep her thought wondered back to the images of Ichigo and the girl. And she knew the twinge in her heart meant jealousy, something she knew she didn't have the right to.

She was desperate for a distraction so when Renji offered an idea to hang out with another group of friends, she quickly agreed to it. But it didn't help either. The decision of still wearing the ring had made the conversation evolved around the ring and the man who gave it to her, not her most favorite subject of the day either.

But when she came home a little after 11, she was content to find herself tired and spent. She took a long hot shower and was ready to change in to her pajamas when she noticed that Ichigo's light was still on. She bit her lips as the urge of running across the street that instant.

Sure, it wasn't something her resolve of forgetting Ichigo would allowed. But then again, he already had a girlfriend right? Surely he wouldn't risk of loosing the girl for someone like her right? Besides, he'd be suspicious something wasn't right if she never came to her room again, right? She debated with herself while chewing on her lower lips.

But she knew none of them were true. She just needed to see his face.

So she put on a clean dress and climbed down her window and follow her usual path to Ichigo's room. But he wasn't there, the room was empty. But the sounds coming from the hall saying that he was having a shower. Before Rukia realized her, her tiredness took over and she thought she would just lie down for a moment while waiting for him. It took her exactly 3 seconds to fall asleep.

And she had the most bizarre dream. She was out in a vast clearing with blue skies. At first she was alone, but the next second Ichigo was with her, holding her hand. He reached out and caressed her cheeks.

"_I won't give up,"_ he said before lowering his head and gave her a soft kiss.

Rukia squirmed in her sleep, not knowing that reality had seeped in to her dream. And the door closed behind Ichigo, not hearing her soft voice saying his name with a smile.

…

"Isshin Kurosaki here," Rukia heard Isshin answered after Yuzu handed him the phone.

"Ochi-senseeeei, how are you? Still pretty I presume?" beamed Isshin again to the receiver, "What can I do for you sensei? I hope my useless son didn't give you any trouble…"

Isshin went silent for a moment. And when he spoke again, his tone was serious.

"I see. Well, thank you for the information," silent, "Yes, of course it is all up to him. I… Well, I don't know what else to say but thank you."

After a proper goodbye, Isshin put the receiver and went to the table. He took a large gulp of tea.

"What's the matter?" Yuzu asked because Isshing didn't say anything.

"Your brother had just received a scholarship offer from the French Embassy," Isshin answered emotionless.

Rukia, Yuzu and Karin who was prepared to listen that Ichigo was involved in another trouble went into shock before exploding into a burst of disbelieve questions.

Isshin waved his hand to calm the girls down and held his head as if the shouts had given him headaches.

"Just pretend you don't know before he tells you," Isshin staggered back to the clinic, muttering he needed a drink.

"A French scholarship?" Yuzu sounded awed before her face twisted, "Does that mean Ichi-nii will go to France?"

"I guess so," Rukia answered.

"Well this just sucks," Yuzu pouted, "You're getting married and Ichi-nii's going to France."

Rukia's answer was only a simple smile for she didn't know what to say to what Yuzu had said. And it had reminded her that Kaien was still waiting for her answer to his proposal. He said he was coming back to Karakura in the weekend, and he expected her to give him her answer by then.

Up until then, she had considered of saying no to him. There were no points of torturing him any further. But when Rukia heard of Ichigo's scholarship, she thought that maybe this were the signs from the heavens. Ichigo had a girlfriend, there was a good possibility that he'll go to France and she had a good, nice-looking man, who loved her from the bottom of his heart that asked her to marry him. And maybe she was being stupid for hesitating. The choices were clear enough.

So that night, she made up her mind. With books about French cultures in her hand, she climbed up to Ichigo's room and sat on his bed, waiting with a smile on her face. When he didn't come for the next ten minutes she reached for a copy of Shakespeare's Hamlet and began reading.

What she didn't expected was ichigo, barging in the room and slammed the door closed behind him, face flushed red as if he'd found out about something that made him furious.

"Sorry 'bout last night. I was dead tired and you weren't here and the bed looked comfortable," she waved to Ichigo who was still on his spot in front of the door, "Oh. I heard about the scholarship. Congrat… Ow."

He had yanked her off the bed by her upper arm. She flinched from his strong grip.

"Ichigo, what are you doing? It hurts, dammit."

But he ignored her. Instead he hissed at her, "Did you date him because he looked like me?"

She didn't calm enough to pretend she didn't understand because she knew full well what he was talking about. He caught her off guard. So she tried to yank her hand free, but this only made him tightened his grip.

"What are you talking about? Let me…," she wriggled and got up to her knees.

"Answer me, Rukia. Did you?" he yanked her closer.

They stared at each other for a second until she looked down to his grip.

"No," she answered in a ragged voice.

"Liar," he hissed, "You knew it all along, didn't you? You already knew from the start that I love you, didn't you?"

Rukia covered her ears. She didn't want this all to happen. This was all just a dream, she convinced herself.

"Stop it. Please," she whimpered.

"No," he tugged on her palms that were covering her ears, "I will not stop. Not until you tell me the truth…"

"Please, stop it," Rukia managed to free her hands and covered her ears once again.

This wasn't happening, she kept telling herself as she shut her eyes closed.

When Ichigo turned her face, she gasped and opened her eyes, tears were beginning to form in the corner of her eyes.

"Did you date him because he looked like me?" and when she still refused to answer he tried again, "I love you, Rukia."

It was the words she'd wanted to hear but dreaded to hear at the same time. She felt her heart exploded both in joy and agony. And tears rolling down her face.

She felt her body shivered when he brought his lips down and whispered in her ears, "But you already know that, don't you?"

She felt her body relaxed, her head spun, making her feel light-headed as his breath grazed her ear and cheek. It took all her might not to turn her head and kissed him. It won't take her any effort as she felt his lips getting closer to her cheek.

Then she found the opening. Feeling her trembled under his touch, Ichigo had loosen his grip and this made Rukia's head working properly once again. She shoved him away from her. Soon they were standing a foot apart, both trembling. But Rukia could see Ichigo's expression changed in rapid succession as if it were played on a 9 mm film. Hurt being the dominant feature.

She was about to made a move when he moved. And she gasped as Ichigo kissed her harshly. Crushing his lips to hers, forcing her mouth to open.

Rukia's world spun faster. Half of her wanted to give in to the kiss, half of her had screeched furiously, warning her to make a run for her life. And the last one she did followed. Blinded by tears, she managed to pull away from him and slapped him. It wasn't hard, but it sure did had its effects. Ichigo's face was as if he was being awakened by a bucket of cold water. He was still motionless when she climbed out of his window.

She didn't remember why she didn't climbed back to her own window. Instead, she used her front door, crossing path with Byakuya, whose eyes were wide before he followed her to her room only to be met with a door being slammed in front of his nose.

"Rukia, what happened? Are you okay?" she heard Byakuya's voice muffled by the door as she slumped to the floor with her back still on the door.

"I'm okay, nii-sama," she managed to answer.

"You don't look okay. Are you hurt anywhere?"

Rukia clutched her shirt. Her chest was where it hurt the most. But she doubted any doctor could heal it.

"I'm okay, nii-sama."

"Okay," said Byakuya, "Well, if you need anything… I'll be in my room."

Byakuya sounded hesitated for a few second but Rukia finally heard his footsteps slowly fading away and she cried silently while covering her lips.

Rukia had lost track of time. It felt like hours ago when she stopped crying, but she didn't move from her place on the floor. She just stopped trembling when she heard soft knocks on her window.

Mindlessly, she walked to her window and slowly put her curtain aside.

"Rukia," the man outside said.

Her brain seemed to worked in slow motion as she recognize the figure in front of her. Orange hair, frowned eyebrows, brown eyes, pointed nose, thin lips… Ichigo. And her eyes bulge. On reflex, she threw the curtain back.

"Rukia, please. Open the window," he pleaded in whispers, "I don't have any explanation of what happened before. And I don't expect you to forgive me. It was wrong. But please, let's talk. And I promise you, it'll be for the last time."

She hesitated but finally giving in to his pleading tone. She held the window for him and he swiftly landed in her room.

"I'll get you something to drink," she murmured and strode past him.

She reached the door and pulled it open when a hand shot from behind her and held the door before slowly pushing it closed once again. Rukia could feel his breath so she knew he was behind her.

"Let's talk," he said.

"What do you want to talk about?" she was able to make her voice sounded calm though she still faced the door.

"I wanna apologize," he began, "about what happened before."

"What are you talking about? Nothing happened."

_That's right Rukia, play stupid_.

"Look, Rukia. Are you gonna act like nothing's happened and pretend you don't know anything?"

"What are you talking about?" she turned to her right in an attempt to escape the compromising position.

But his right hand darted out and blocked her path, and so did his left hand when she turned to her other side.

"Please, Rukia…" his voice was barely a whisper, "…tell me how you feels about me. And if you say you don't love me, and not as your brother, I will go. I promise you I will never say anything about this anymore."

She could hear him dropped to his knees, his head only rested on the small of her back.

"Please," he pleaded.

There he was, kneeling before her; eyes lowered to the carpeted floor, hands trembling on either side of her body, face a few inches away from her back. So close… yet felt so far away. The choices were clear: take the forbidden fruit, tasted it and let her soul burn in hell or walk away. Choices that were always haunted her since the day she realized that she loved him. Choices that seemed so simple, yet so difficult to bear.

Rukia turned around and cupped his cheeks, slowly making him looked up. Pain was evident in his eyes. She lowered her head and whispered, "I love you Ichigo… I always do…"

Emotion seemed to take control over her as she slumped to her knees and into his arms. She didn't even remember why she denied her feelings in the first place. She didn't even remember the vows she made when Masaki died that she would protect Ichigo and the twins as if they were her own brother and sisters. All that was left were the vent up emotions, years of denying her own love, lying and deceiving her own heart. All she knew was that she was holding the man she loved in her arms and he was holding her with same intensity.

Minutes passed by as she sobbed in his arms, feeling both glad she told him her feelings and scared of what to come after that. She always been a coward when it came to expressing her own feelings, and it hadn't changed.

"Feeling better?" she felt him whispered against her neck when her sob subsided.

Realizing that she had been crying like a child, she felt blush began creeping up her face and she awkwardly detached herself from him. An equally awkward laugh escaped her lips as she tried to wipe the tears on her face with her palms even though she knew by doing that she would definitely looked even terrible than she already was.

A hand stopped her and pulled her hands to his face before setting it on each of his cheeks.

"Does this mean you love me?" he asked.

"I thought I had that cleared," she laughed bitterly.

"Say it again, please…" he touched his forehead to hers as his hands kept hers on his cheeks even when she was trying to wriggle it free.

She sighed and leaned to him, "I love you, Kurosaki Ichigo…"

Ichigo smirked, "See? That wasn't so hard."

He tilted his head to the side, but before his lips even touched hers, she backed away.

"What?" he frowned.

Before he knew it, she was out of his arms and out of his reach. She walked to the window and stood beside its drapes.

"What now, Rukia?" he groaned as her face once again showed her uncertainty.

"This isn't right," she said and watched as Ichigo got up and ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"What isn't? I love you, you love me, end of discussion."

"Please listen to me, Ichigo. I've dealt with this maybe longer than you have," she begged, "You and I, we defies… our social values. I'm 22 and you… you haven't even finish your high school."

"Do you think I wanted to be born 5 years too late?!" came his frustrated shouting. In three long strode, he crossed the room and once again stood in front of her, his eyes bored into hers.

"You don't know how much I wish I am 5 years older than you so we don't have to go through all this. But we're not living in a perfect world, Rukia," he cupped her cheek, "We don't always get what we wanted. And I'm happy enough to have you."

Rukia felt her heart swell with happiness, but once again she shook her head.

"But I promised Masaki that I'll protect you and the twins…" she whispered.

"And who said you can't if you're with me? You'll even be the twins' real sister," he smiled.

"But you deserve someone your own age," she tried again.

He gritted his teeth and raised his voice, "Don't I deserve to be with the woman I love? Don't I deserve to be with the woman I wanted to be with? I love you, Rukia and I want to be with you."

Rukia's eyes widened at his words.

"But…" she squeaked as another round of tears threatened to fall. But her words were never got to finish as he cupped her other cheek and brought his face down to her level.

"I cannot promise you that everything will be okay from now on nor can I say that it's all gonna be downhill from here," his warm breath fanned her face as she was caught in his molten amber eyes, "From now on, just look at me and forget all the rest. And I can promise you one thing. No matter what people will say about us, I will look only at you and I will love only you."

Rukia felt her lips curled up in a smile as she choked on her tears. She leaned forward and rested her forehead on his chin.

"I'm already 22, Ichigo…," she still insisted though her will to fight wasn't there anymore.

"And I will be 22, five years from now," Ichigo smirked as she pulled her closer.

"By then I will be 27, Idiot," she muttered again.

"And I will be 27 when the time comes," he shrugged nonchalantly.

Rukia snorted and smiled.

_Why am I running?_ She asked herself, _when I know that it's unavoidable._

"You're being stupid," she sighed.

She felt him smirked against her forehead as he answered, "I don't mind being stupid if that's what it takes for you to love me."

He pulled her away from him and stared at her, waiting for her answer as he tilted his head.

She chuckled, "Yes, though I know I will probably get arrested for it, I do love you, Ichigo."

"And I love you, Rukia."

He then pulled her closer and pressed his lips to her. But this time, she didn't put up fight. Instead, she melted to his touch and kissed him back. The kiss she knew they had waited for the longest time.

She felt his fingers traveled from her cheeks, down to her neck and further down her arms before they entwined themselves with her own. Then she felt something slid down on her finger.

"You won't be needing this anymore," he smirked against her lips when he managed to slid the ring off of her finger.

"Ichigo, don't…" she tried to ask Ichigo not to throw it away, but she was silenced by his kiss once again.

She sighed in defeat when she heard a faint cling somewhere in the room as Ichigo threw the ring away. All she could do was smiled as he yanked her even closer.

---

Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months and without anyone noticing, the term had ended and graduation day arrived. Kurosaki Ichigo, along with his classmates and the rest of third-year student stood proudly in the ceremony hall as the principal congratulated them on their graduation. Ishida Uryuu, the student representation who graduated as the top of his year's class, specially congratulated Ichigo on his scholarship.

Rukia, along with Isshin and the twins – Byakuya had refused to go anywhere with Isshin, especially in public places – sat at the back of the guest's rows because Karin said she wanted to prevent anyone to see her father's 'uncommon' behavior. Well, one could hope because Isshin started to howl in cry the moment the principal called out the students to handed them their diplomas. Karin had pretended she didn't know him for the rest of the ceremony.

But the bearded man had changed his expression as fast as a shinkansen when they got out of the ceremony hall.

"Come on girls, this is the last time I could see girls in highschool uniform before you guys entered high school," Isshin screeched and dragged the screaming teens in his hands.

"Here," Ichigo handed Rukia something small after Isshin and the girls were out of sight.

Rukia frowned as she saw a button lying on her palm.

"A button?" she looked up to him and saw his second row button of his shirt was missing. She let out a soft laugh.

"Second row button?" asked Rukia.

"I… uh…," Ichigo cleared his throat, "I wanna catch up the five years gap."

With another cough he added, "I just thought that no one gave you their second row button. So… I don't want to make you disappointed even when its… five years too late," his voice trailed off in the last words. He scratched his head.

Rukia smiled as she saw him blushing. She gripped the button tightly, brought it to her chest and put on her best poker face.

"Oh, there were a few guys tried to gave them to me," She lied and tried not to laugh as she saw him gagged in disbelief, "But thank you."

She tiptoed and gave him a light peck on his cheek and his face lit up.

"That wasn't even close to saying thank you," he swoop down and lift her by the waist so her face was level with his, her feet dangling inches from the ground.

"Ichigo, what are you doing? Put me down this instant," she wriggled in his arms and hissed, "People are staring at us."

"Don't look at them, just look at me," he pressed his forehead to her to stop her from wriggling.

When she finally stopped fighting, she let out a sigh, earning a laugh from Ichigo. Her body shook from his laugh.

"You're gonna wait for me, right?" he asked softly then.

"You've waited for me all this long. What is four years compared to that," she answered back.

He then dipped his head to give her a chaste kiss on the lips before slowly putting her down to her feet.

When Rukia adjusted her wrinkled dress, she saw Tatsuki stood a few feet away from them. Beside her stood an auburn haired girl, and if look could kill, then Rukia would be dead by now from the way the girl stared at her. Rukia hesitated for a moment before waving to Tatsuki. The auburn-haired girl gave her one last glare before turning on her heels while Tatsuki, looking awkward with the situation, stared back at the still-waving Rukia before following her friend, not even care to wave back at her. Rukia's face fell and she felt pain in her chest, forcing her to clutch her shirt tightly.

But a warm hand pulled her hand away from her chest and gripped it in his hand. She looked up and saw Ichigo grinned at her.

"Let's go home," he started walking, tugging her along.

She nodded and smiled back.

Things were bound to get harder, but this was the path they choose. And she will not run. Not anymore.

Ichigo, 18 years old and Rukia, 22 years old, had just began their journey.

**---**

**A/N:** I lost the file and had to rewrite this chapter, so… sorry :D And about the 'second row button' (I don't know a proper English term for it since I read it in Indonesian) was taken from shoujo mangas I read when I was a kid. I don't know if they still do that, though. Ha ha. Anyone familiar with the tradition I was referring to? (snickers) Okay. This isn't the last chapter, there is still one character I just dying to write – y'all know who that is, right (wriggle eyebrows). See you tomorrow then.


	17. Byakuya's Reverie

**His And Her Relationship**

**Chapter 17: Byakuya's Reverie**

Byakuya sighed in content as he enjoyed his afternoon tea in his favorite room. He glad he built the small garden just outside the room. Just a small traditional Japanese garden with an equally small pond. Just by hearing the water fickle down from the fountain made him relax. He often came here after work just to loosen his stress. And after Rukia's leaving to Tokyo, he spent most of his time there. Something the Kuchiki main house in Tokyo never had.

"Aah, this is what I call life."

Byakuya felt a vein popped on his temple when his company for the afternoon said that. He was in the middle of absorbing the positive energy released by the serenity of the garden when the bearded man decided to intervene.

He turned to the older man sitting next to him with his legs sprawled across the tatami floor, with a glass on his hand and a sake bottle not too far from him.

Byakuya cleared his throat and adjusted his sitting position. The black light kimono he was wearing only allowed him to sit with crossed legs. Besides, his upbringing would never allow him to sit the way Isshin did.

"Please try not to spill any sake on the tatami, it's a pain trying to get the stain off," Byakuya sipped on his tea slowly, feeling the warm liquid running down his throat.

Isshin scoffed, "This isn't the first time I drink here, but that was the first time you ever said that to me."

He glanced at Byakuya but the younger man had set his eyes back to the garden.

"Are you still mad about Ichigo?" Isshin grinned before refilling his cup.

Though Byakuya had tried to calm his senses, the question still nagged him.

"I…," he tried to said before he sighed and started over, "No, I am not. It's none of my business."

"You said exactly the opposite of what you did, you know that?"

But Byakuya once again, ignored Isshin's comment.

"But I never thought the two of them will end up like this," Isshin said with a dreamy voice.

Byakuya sipped on his tea before he answered, "Liar."

Isshin laughed, "I'm that transparent, huh?"

It took a moment before Byakuya let out a soft laugh.

"They both grown-ups now," Isshin said again.

"That, I know," Byakuya answered.

"Then why are you sulking here?"

Byakuya scoffed, "This happens to be my house, you know. Shouldn't you be asking that to yourself?"

Isshin laughed and took another swig from his glass.

"At least I still have my daughters."

"Oh, that's low," Byakuya put his cup down.

"Don't worry, I'll have Yuzu prepared meals for you everyday."

"That's not the problem, Isshin," Byakuya hissed, irritated.

"Or maybe you can stay with us? Ichigo's room will be empty," Isshin clapped his hands as the idea appeared.

"Listen here," Byakuya began but he stopped as he felt a pair of small and chubby arms wrapped itself around his neck.

He turned to see a pair of purple eyes staring back at him.

"Jii-san," the boy grinned.

"Kyo," Byakuya scooped the little boy and placed him in his lap, "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be sleeping now?"

"Tou-san said 'go bug jii-san'," the boy answered with his childish voice. His socks-covered little feet dangled over Byakuya's knees.

"Maybe what your dad meant was _that_ jii-san," Byakuya nodded towards Isshin who began hiccup-ing.

Isshin extended his arms and slurred, "Come to jii-san, Kyo…"

But the boy frowned and held on to Byakuya's neck. He shook his head and pouted.

"Kyo wants Byakuya-jii-san!! Kuma-jii-san smells!"

Byakuya almost laughed as he saw Isshin's hurt expression being called bear and smelled.

"You're not even his grandfather," Isshing pouted and crossed his arms.

"I'm old enough to be one," Byakuya softly patted the boy's back as he snuggled deeper into Byakuya's arms, "And I am more like Rukia's father than a brother for her."

Isshin sighed and laid on his side, her head propped on one of his hand.

"I never thought you'd get along this well with kids," Isshin chuckled.

"Maybe if you brush your teeth and shave your beard, you'll get along well with him too," Byakuya retorted.

The two men fell silent as they watched Kyo's chest rise and fall in a steady pace, indicating that the little boy had fallen asleep.

It felt like only yesterday Ichigo came to his study room, hand-in-hand with Rukia. He remembered he had raised an eyebrow on the sight. The two of them looked pale and nervous, but he could see the determination in Ichigo's eyes as the young man stared back at him while his sister avoided his demanding eyes.

"I want to marry Rukia," was what Ichigo said before Byakuya had the chance to offer them to sit or even asked them on what purpose had them barged in on his study.

Byakuya still wondered how he could stay calm on the boy's sudden announcement. Yes, he knew it was an announcement. He wasn't asking for Byakuya's permission. It was the kind of I-don't-give-a-damn-even-if-you-said-no kind of statement.

He remembered how he reacted when the other man, Kaien, proposed to her during the dinner; he was… disturbed, to say the least. And the little… lecture he gave the man had left him pale and weak. The man didn't even dare to meet him for the second time.

But when Ichigo said that, all he did was leaning on his grand desk and entwined his fingers.

"And what will you feed her if you do? You barely finished your high school," Byakuya said in his usual cold tone, hiding his surprise, as he observed Ichigo. He noticed that the boy had squeezed his sister's fingers in his grasp as he asked that.

"I'm not saying I'm going to marry her now. I know I have nothing to offer her, but I will," he gritted his teeth, "I got a scholarship offer from the French Embassy and I'm going to take it. And when I got home, I intend to marry her."

"And what if I say no?" Byakuya's eyes turned to mere slits on his face.

"I don't care," Ichigo answered back even before Byakuya finished his sentence, "I came here not to seek permission from you. I just came to tell you this."

_Just what I thought_, Byakuya said to himself and sighed.

"Then what are you two doing here? If you two are so determined to do what you're already planning to do, then I have nothing else to say," he waved them dismissively.

He saw both of their expression turned bright and they both grinned at each other before turning back to Byakuya.

"Thank you, nii-sama," Rukia said, tears began forming on the corner of her eyes.

"Thank you, Byakuya," Ichigo said before they both turned to walk out of the room.

"Ichigo," Byakuya called out after Rukia exited the door.

The boy's facial expression turned hard once again as he turned to Byakuya, "Yeah?"

"You might want to consider calling me nii-san too," Byakuya cleared his throat.

The corner of Ichigo's mouth quirked as he grinned, "Yeah, right."

After the two young people who were definitely in love left, Byakuya reached for his late wife's framed picture.

"I did the right thing, didn't I?" he asked his wife.

And for the next four years he kept asking himself the same question as he saw his sister seemed to lose her direction. After Ichigo's graduation and he left for France, life never seemed easy for her. Many of the people who didn't approve her relationship with a younger man chastised her secretly behind her back. Ill words were thrown at her, bolder every time.

Byakuya once caught her crying on the porch after one of the yearly Kuchiki party when an old acquaintance said behind their back but loud enough for everyone to hear, "Oh, so this is the famous Kuchiki Rukia. I wonder whose boy she has set her eyes on this time."

Sure, Byakuya had chased the old woman out after that with a promise that they will have no means of association, business or otherwise. But the damage had been done, and there was nothing he could do but to curse the orange-haired boy and wished for his return anytime soon.

And return he had; and Byakuya couldn't do anything but thanked the younger man silently for Ichigo had brought her back to live. He had returned smile onto her face.

The young man did what he promised before his departure; he married her soon after. And the moment Byakuya handed his sister's hand to his awaiting hand, Byakuya knew that he made the right decision.

Soon after their marriage, Ichigo took her to Tokyo as he received a job offer there. And just a year after, Byakuya was glad he made that decision years ago when he held Ichigo and Rukia's fruit of love in his arms. A squirming black-haired boy named Kyo.

The boy grew up to be a cute and cheerful kid who, curiously, love being near him. Kyo had stubbornly called him jii-san instead of calling him ji-san no matter how much his mother telling him not to. She stopped trying after a while, and Byakuya didn't mind.

"I will miss him," Byakuya said softly as he brushed the boy's bangs aside and watched his sleeping expression.

If there was something Byakuya was thankful about, it would be that his nephew/grandson's hair was his mother's and not his father's. Though it was obvious for everyone to see that Kyo was indeed Ichigo's child for he resembled his father in all kinds of way except for his hair and eye colors.

"It's not like they'll never coming back. They're moving to Osaka, not the North Pole. Besides, you never complained when they moved out to Tokyo," Isshin sat back up.

"Well, Tokyo's just hours away from here."

"So is Osaka, by plane."  
Byakuya sighed and adjusted Kyo's position. The boy squirmed and his thumb traveled across his chest before it stuck between his lips.

"What are they doing anyway, she should have taken him to bed by now," Byakuya frowned as he looked up to the general direction of Rukia's bedroom on the second floor. Rukia was packing the clothes she left behind when she moved out to Tokyo with Ichigo along with some toys Byakuya had stubbornly gave Kyo even when she said he shouldn't have.

Isshin shrugged and answered nonchalantly, "Maybe they're having a farewell sex in Rukia's old bedroom."

Byakuya's expression turned dark as he gently handled the boy over to Isshin and stood up, "Excuse me. I have an in-law to kill."

Isshin Kurosaki, at the age of 45 years old was holding his sleeping 1 year-old grandson while laughing at his 43 year-old-in-law Byakuya Kuchiki. Life was never boring since the Kuchikis moved to the neighborhood.

---

**A/N: **And it's a wrap!!! Maybe its not the way you expected, but I just want to write this, you know, being inside Byakuya's head :D And this is the first multi-chapped story that I actually finish!!! (doesn't mean I'm not going to finish the other) Never thought it's gonna be this long considering I got the inspiration when I saw a Bleach wallpaper. LOL. Hmm, but not gonna stop here, I still have two more stories to finish and tons of ideas that keep popping in my head in random time. For those of you who also read Perfect Paradise and The Karakura High Undercover, I'm not abandoning it, update's coming soon. Thank you for reading, favoriting and reviewing His and Her Relationship, it's been a pleasure to share the story with you!!!!


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